This page was part of an MTU course MSE4777 OA and MSE4777 OB/MSE5777/EE4777/EE5777: Open-source 3-D printingPlease leave comments using the talk page. The course runs in the Fall semester. It is not open edit.Read more...

Broad and/or obvious patent claims for 3-D printing technology may hamper the open-source 3-D printing community's ability to innovate. Previous work on an algorithm protected 3-D printing materials. This page is part of a MTU Open Source 3-D Printing class project to investigate 3-D printing concepts using TRIZ and is presented here as a defensive publication of prior art to help identify obvious 'inventions' for 3-D printing.

Examiners: The ideas on this page dated Dec 3, 2015 and Nov 29, 2016 were developed by university students with less than a semester of formal 3-D printing experience (or by an instructor in class) and thus should be considered unpatentable because of obviousness to any person skilled in the art of additive manufacturing.
Appropedians: This page is open edit. Please fee free to add ideas and sign them below with ~~~~ or to use any of the ideas to built better open-source 3-D printers.

Raclark (talk) 07:25, 1 December 2015 (PST)

Definition from http://www.triz40.com/aff_Principles_TRIZ.php[edit | edit source]

If it will be necessary to do an action with both harmful and useful effects, this action should be replaced with anti-actions to control harmful effects.

• Buffer a solution to prevent harm from extremes of pH.

Create beforehand stresses in an object that will oppose known undesirable working stresses later on.

• Pre-stress rebar before pouring concrete.
• Masking anything before harmful exposure: Use a lead apron on parts of the body not being exposed to X-rays. Use masking tape to protect the part of an object not being painted

This principle is proposed to solve the following contradictions: 2/325/276/47/148/1410/310/711/1412/1513/1414/614/815/317/317/419/1420/222/227/329/232/3434/934/1436/3337/2538/15

Solutions[edit | edit source]

1. only allow bonding of printed material on certain areas of substrate to improve resolution (masking) Raclark (talk) 07:53, 1 December 2015 (PST)
2. create print head with multiple extrusion points to speed printing in high resolution Raclark (talk) 07:53, 1 December 2015 (PST)
3. stabilize printer with weights from shaking due to fast extruder head movement Raclark (talk) 07:43, 1 December 2015 (PST)
4. design more universal and flexible extruder drive (like Chinese finger trap) Raclark (talk) 07:43, 1 December 2015 (PST)
5. design retrofit of old parts to new printers to eliminate waste Raclark (talk) 07:43, 1 December 2015 (PST)
6. use popular user interfaces to eliminate familiarizing time Raclark (talk) 07:43, 1 December 2015 (PST)
7. add motion sensors to turn off printer if object enters print area Raclark (talk) 07:53, 1 December 2015 (PST)
8. design cooled shield to protect user from accidentally touching hot end when heated Raclark (talk) 07:53, 1 December 2015 (PST)
9. release chemical in air to bond with volatiles from printing to form inert and safe to breathe compound Raclark (talk) 07:53, 1 December 2015 (PST)
10. release chemical in air to bond with volatiles from printing to form pleasant smelling compound Raclark (talk) 07:53, 1 December 2015 (PST)
11. introduce additive to thermoplastic that releases a pleasant scent upon heating Raclark (talk) 07:53, 1 December 2015 (PST)
12. design lighter parts by filling with lighter than air gas Raclark (talk) 07:06, 3 December 2015 (PST)
13. print glue stick Raclark (talk) 07:06, 3 December 2015 (PST)
14. add waste bin attachment to printer to keep waste Raclark (talk) 07:06, 3 December 2015 (PST)
15. install noise dampening cushions Raclark (talk) 07:06, 3 December 2015 (PST)
16. make all parts waterproof Raclark (talk) 07:06, 3 December 2015 (PST)
17. print all parts from high temperature alloys Raclark (talk) 07:06, 3 December 2015 (PST)
18. add thermal curtains for printing in cold environments Raclark (talk) 07:06, 3 December 2015 (PST)
19. add thermal sink to convert excess heat to energy Raclark (talk) 07:11, 3 December 2015 (PST)
20. use carbon nanotubes to strengthen prints Raclark (talk) 07:11, 3 December 2015 (PST)
21. install safety latches on electronic cables Raclark (talk) 07:11, 3 December 2015 (PST)
22. follow print path with laser to confirm print successful as it's printing Raclark (talk) 07:15, 3 December 2015 (PST)
23. design printed parts with labels corresponding to how they fit into other printed parts Raclark (talk) 07:15, 3 December 2015 (PST)
24. design sound-absorbent curtains Raclark (talk) 07:19, 3 December 2015 (PST)
25. design self cleaning print bed to scrap excess glue Raclark (talk) 07:19, 3 December 2015 (PST)
26. Stabilize printer by eliminating number of structural componentsJcvieau (talk) 07:40, 1 December 2016 (PST)
27. Self cleaning/heating bed for reduce waste Jcvieau (talk) 07:39, 1 December 2016 (PST)
28. Use of "Lock Tite" to eliminate loosening of connecting fasteners Jcvieau (talk) 07:42, 1 December 2016 (PST)
29. Design adhesive addition to hot end to reduce the over use of glue stick Jcvieau (talk) 07:48, 1 December 2016 (PST)
30. Design a "non-jammed nozzle" to eliminating printer jamming resulting in poor parts Jcvieau (talk) 07:48, 1 December 2016 (PST)

• ---

1. Damping feet to help with vibration Patrick Gilland (talk) 07:13, 4 December 2018 (PST)

#Mounted glue stick to print a glue layer first Patrick Gilland (talk) 07:13, 4 December 2018 (PST)

1. Enclosure for print bed Patrick Gilland (talk) 07:13, 4 December 2018 (PST)
2. Filament untangle device (wedge thing) Patrick Gilland (talk) 07:13, 4 December 2018 (PST)
3. Nozzle cleaning heat cycle before each print Patrick Gilland (talk) 07:13, 4 December 2018 (PST)
4. Sensor to detect filament break Patrick Gilland (talk) 07:13, 4 December 2018 (PST)
5. Bed heating clean cycle after each print Patrick Gilland (talk) 07:13, 4 December 2018 (PST)
6. Sponge pass through for filament cleaning Patrick Gilland (talk) 07:13, 4 December 2018 (PST)
7. Automated tracking of print time to proactively alert for maintenance needs Patrick Gilland (talk) 07:13, 4 December 2018 (PST)
8. Printer shutdown after certain amount of idle time Patrick Gilland (talk) 07:13, 4 December 2018 (PST)
9. Have nozzle push 3 buttons before heating to verify that the calibration is still good Patrick Gilland (talk) 07:13, 4 December 2018 (PST)
10. Use the same buttons to self calibrate before each print Patrick Gilland (talk) 07:13, 4 December 2018 (PST)
11. Optical sensor to make sure plastic is being properly put down (speed adjusts based on results) Patrick Gilland (talk) 07:13, 4 December 2018 (PST)
12. Second extruder that comes on when second one tangles or runs out Patrick Gilland (talk) 07:13, 4 December 2018 (PST)
13. Develop other print bed solutions for adhesion Patrick Gilland (talk) 07:13, 4 December 2018 (PST)
14. Automated heated print removing blade Patrick Gilland (talk) 07:13, 4 December 2018 (PST)
15. Counter weighting printer Patrick Gilland (talk) 07:13, 4 December 2018 (PST)
16. Circuit completed by rod end connections for rod connection break detection Patrick Gilland (talk) 07:13, 4 December 2018 (PST)
17. Belt tightness detection for warning when belts need tightening
18. Noise damping device Patrick Gilland (talk) 07:13, 4 December 2018 (PST)

• ---

1. clean each spool of plastic before using it for printingDevon Smith (talk) 07:26, 4 December 2018 (PST)
2. store spool of plastic in safe hydro controlled locationDevon Smith (talk) 07:26, 4 December 2018 (PST)
3. dry filament beforee useDevon Smith (talk) 07:26, 4 December 2018 (PST)
4. Grease the critical componentsDevon Smith (talk) 07:26, 4 December 2018 (PST)
5. double sided tape printer to permanent locationDevon Smith (talk) 07:26, 4 December 2018 (PST)
6. build a bullet proof glass scare around computerDevon Smith (talk) 07:26, 4 December 2018 (PST)
7. build a fixture to align the printer and lock it into it's locationDevon Smith (talk) 07:26, 4 December 2018 (PST)
8. save extra files of build to allow to recovery of deleted filesDevon Smith (talk) 07:26, 4 December 2018 (PST)
9. continually clean print bedDevon Smith (talk) 07:26, 4 December 2018 (PST)
10. add a cage around the hot end to allow people to not burn themselvesDevon Smith (talk) 07:26, 4 December 2018 (PST)
11. don't use materials known to have program wok properlyDevon Smith (talk) 07:26, 4 December 2018 (PST)
12. put safety catch on print head so if it knocks of the printer it will remain of then

• ---

1. autolevel bed before the print starts JasonBell (talk) 15:17, 3 December 2019 (UTC)
2. scrape the print bed off after each print and apply more glue JasonBell (talk) 15:17, 3 December 2019 (UTC)
3. continuously load filament before a spool runs completely dry JasonBell (talk) 15:17, 3 December 2019 (UTC)
4. self lubricate moving components JasonBell (talk) 15:17, 3 December 2019 (UTC)
5. remove old solid print off of bed automaticly JasonBell (talk) 15:17, 3 December 2019 (UTC)
6. Preheat nozzle on startup JasonBell (talk) 15:17, 3 December 2019 (UTC)
7. Make the bed flexible and sticky / no need to scrape or have glue JasonBell (talk) 15:17, 3 December 2019 (UTC)

no restrictions

1. smart filament spools with multiple materials in one (dissolving, different strengths) JasonBell (talk) 15:33, 3 December 2019 (UTC)
2. purposely poor bed adhesion for easy removal JasonBell (talk) 15:33, 3 December 2019 (UTC)
3. weaker supports JasonBell (talk) 15:33, 3 December 2019 (UTC)
4. collapsable printer (fit in backpack pocket) JasonBell (talk) 15:33, 3 December 2019 (UTC)
5. disposable print bed that allows for good adhesion and is removable JasonBell (talk) 15:33, 3 December 2019 (UTC)
6. suspended cable printing (no rods)