A 3D drawing arrangement includes a feeding passage, a heater, a filament moving system, and a controller which includes a control circuit and a finger detector electrically connected to the control circuit, wherein when the finger detector detects a presence of a finger of a user which is aligned with the finger detector, the control circuit starts operation of the filament moving system to feed a filament to the heater along the feeding passage, so that the filament is heated and melted by the heater to produce the melted material flow.

Disclosed are a method and apparatus of estimating a depth of a molten pool formed during a 3D printing process, and a 3D printing system. A surface temperature of the molten pool is measure by taking a thermal image of a laminated printing object during the 3D printing process with a thermal imaging camera. The measured surface temperature is compared with a melting point of the base material to determine a surface boundary of the molten pool. The maximum lengths in x-axis and y-axis directions of a surface region of the molten pool defined by the surface boundary of the molten pool are determined as a length and a width of the surface of the molten pool, respectively. A maximum depth in the z-axis direction of the molten pool is determined in real time based on the length and width of the surface region of the molten pool.

The material feeding device is configured so that in the state in which a hopper having an opening part and containing a material is attached to a coupling member configured so that the hopper is detachably attached to the coupling member, when the hopper is located in a first area, a first member configured to be able to make a sliding displacement on a slide surface having the first area where a feed hole is disposed makes the sliding displacement to a third area different from the first area to make it possible to take a communicated state in which the opening part and the feed hole are communicated with each other, and when the hopper is located in a second area, the first member makes a sliding displacement to the first area to make it possible to take a non-communicated state in which the first member covers the feed hole. The material feeding device takes the non-communicated state at least when the hopper is detached from the coupling member via a detachably attaching part disposed in the second area extending along a direction in which the first area extends.

The material feeding device is configured so that in the state in which a hopper having an opening part and containing a material is attached to a coupling member configured so that the hopper is detachably attached to the coupling member, when the hopper is located in a first area, a first member configured to be able to make a sliding displacement on a slide surface having the first area where a feed hole is disposed makes the sliding displacement to a third area different from the first area to make it possible to take a communicated state in which the opening part and the feed hole are communicated with each other, and when the hopper is located in a second area, the first member makes a sliding displacement to the first area to make it possible to take a non-communicated state in which the first member covers the feed hole. The material feeding device takes the non-communicated state at least when the hopper is detached from the coupling member via a detachably attaching part disposed in the second area extending along a direction in which the first area extends.

An additive manufacturing system configured to: during a first build cycle of an additive manufacturing process for manufacturing a first layer of a build, sampling a first set of sensor data streams via the sensor suite; calculate a first likelihood of failure of the build based on the first set of sensor data streams; in response to calculating the first likelihood of failure within a first likelihood range, flag the build to indicate the first likelihood of failure; and in response to calculating the first likelihood of failure within a second likelihood range greater than the first likelihood range, pause the additive manufacturing process, and notify an operator of the additive manufacturing system of the first likelihood of failure.

An additive manufacturing system configured to: during a first build cycle of an additive manufacturing process for manufacturing a first layer of a build, sampling a first set of sensor data streams via the sensor suite; calculate a first likelihood of failure of the build based on the first set of sensor data streams; in response to calculating the first likelihood of failure within a first likelihood range, flag the build to indicate the first likelihood of failure; and in response to calculating the first likelihood of failure within a second likelihood range greater than the first likelihood range, pause the additive manufacturing process, and notify an operator of the additive manufacturing system of the first likelihood of failure.

A variety of techniques are disclosed for customizing a digital model of an aesthetic housing to receive a functional component and an interface component for the functional component.

A variety of techniques are disclosed for customizing a digital model of an aesthetic housing to receive a functional component and an interface component for the functional component.

A removable build module to connect to a host apparatus, may include a build platform to support an object-to-be-built, a drive unit to move the build platform, a memory to receive and store build parameters, and an interface circuit to communicate the build parameters to the host apparatus.

A removable build module to connect to a host apparatus, may include a build platform to support an object-to-be-built, a drive unit to move the build platform, a memory to receive and store build parameters, and an interface circuit to communicate the build parameters to the host apparatus.