An apparatus and method of diagnosing an unobserved operational parameter of a machine or apparatus. The method including obtaining a plurality of causal relationships between pairs of parameters of the machine or apparatus, wherein each pair includes a cause parameter and an effect parameter. For at least some of the parameters, a decomposition of the parameters into a plurality of information components is determined, based on the determined causal relationships between the parameters. The decomposition includes a synergistic information component including information obtained from a combination of at least two causal relationships having the parameter as effect parameter. A parameter is determined to include a negative synergistic information component. Based on the existence of the negative synergistic information component, it is diagnosed that an unobserved operational parameter provides a cause for the parameter including the negative synergistic information component.

Described herein are three-dimensional (3D) printer systems and methods, which may provide for “continuous pull” 3D printing. An illustrative 3D printer includes: a resin container, a base plate, a light source arranged below the resin container and operable to cure resin in the resin container; and a control system operable to: (a) receive model data specifying a 3D structure; (b) determine 2D images corresponding to layers of the 3D object; and (c) generate control signals to operate the light source and the base plate to sequentially form the layers of the 3D object onto the base plate, wherein the base plate moves a formed portion of the 3D object upward after formation of each layer, and wherein at least a surface of a formed portion of the 3D object remains in contact with the resin in the resin container throughout the formation of the layers of the 3D object.

A method for additive manufacturing includes: at a build tray arranged over a build window and containing a resin reservoir of a resin, heating the resin reservoir toward a target bulk resin temperature less than a heat deflection temperature of the resin in a photocured state; at a resin interface between a surface of the build window and the resin reservoir, heating an interface layer of the resin reservoir toward a target reaction temperature; and, in response to the resin reservoir exhibiting a first temperature proximal the target bulk resin temperature and to the interface layer exhibiting a second temperature proximal the target reaction temperature: at the resin interface, selectively photocuring a first volume of the resin to form a first layer of a build adhered to a build platform; and retracting the build platform away from the build window.

An optical shaping apparatus includes: a light source unit that outputs collimated light; an optical function unit that is disposed on an optical path of the collimated light and modulates the optical path or a phase of the collimated light; and a control unit that controls operation of the optical function unit, to irradiate a target surface with modulated light produced in the optical function unit.

A method for controlling a process of manufacturing an item includes making available an electronic control device (ECD) operatively associated with a processing apparatus and a central processing unit (CPU) connected to the ECD by a telecommunications network, transmitting, by the CPU, an encrypted message representative of a digital model of the item to be manufactured to the ECD, decrypting, by the ECD, the encrypted message to store the clear text digital model of the item, sending, by the ECD, an item processing start message with the digital model of the item to the processing apparatus, sending a message indicative of a status of advancement of processing of the item to the CPU, and, following reception of an item processing end message, sending to the ECD a message for deleting the clear text digital model of the item stored in the ECD.

Techniques for evaluating support for an object to be fabricated via an additive fabrication device are provided. In some embodiments, a three-dimensional representation of the object is obtained and a plurality of voxels corresponding to the representation of the object is generated. A first supportedness value may be assigned to a first voxel of the plurality of voxels based on an amount of support provided by a support structure to the first voxel, and a second supportedness value determined for a second voxel of the plurality of voxels, wherein the second voxel neighbors the first voxel, and wherein the second supportedness value is determined based on the first supportedness value of the first voxel and a weight value representing a transmission rate of supportedness through voxels of the plurality of voxels.

An additive manufacturing system may include a controller operably coupled to a vision system and an additive manufacturing machine. The controller may be configured to determine a workpiece-interface of each of a plurality of workpieces from one or more digital representations of one or more fields of view having been captured by a vision system and determining one or more coordinates of the workpiece-interface of respective ones of the plurality of workpieces, and to transmit one or more print commands to an additive manufacturing machine so as to additively print a plurality of extension segments on the workpiece-interface of respective ones of the plurality of workpieces, with the one or more print commands having been generated based at least in part on the one or more digital representations of the one or more fields of view.

A method includes identifying a recipe for depositing a plurality of layers on a substrate in a processing chamber of a substrate processing system. The recipe includes iterations of a set of processes. Each iteration is for depositing at least one layer. The method further includes determining iteration adjustments to cause uniformity of the layers. Each iteration adjustment corresponds to a respective iteration. The method further includes determining multipliers to cause an adjustment in thickness of one or more layers of the layers. Each multiplier of the multipliers corresponds to a corresponding iteration. The method further includes storing the iteration adjustments and the multipliers as stored iteration adjustments and stored multipliers. The layers are deposited on substrates based on the recipe and the stored iteration adjustments and the stored multipliers.

A method is described in which a digital model of a part to be formed within a build bed is received. The model is rotated within a build volume of the build bed such that the projected area of the part in a plane normal to a flow axis is reduced. The flow axis is an axis along which a flow of gas moves through the build bed during a post-print operation, or the flow axis is defined by a type of post-print operation to be performed on the build bed.

Various embodiments include a method for additive manufacturing of a building structure on using a simulation comprising: accessing a data set for the building structure describing the building structure in layers; calculating a global heat development in previous layers based a building history and heat input by an energy beam; determining a local heat development in a vicinity of the heat input; determining the process control based on the global and the local heat development; loading correction measures from a database; and assigning the correction measures locally to individual vectors of a tool path of the energy beam. At least one mass integral is calculated for individual vectors of the tool path. The measures are determined on the basis of a comparison of the calculated mass integral with mass integrals stored in the database.