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

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.

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

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

  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)
Page data
License CC-BY-SA-3.0
Language English ()
Related 0 subpages, 0 pages link here
Redirects Obvious 3D printer technology based on 9. Prior Counteraction
Views 3 page views (analytics)
Created December 1, 2015 by Rachel Clark
Last edit November 28, 2025 by Maintenance script
Cite as Raclark, Patrick Gilland, JasonBell, Devon Smith, Jcvieau (2015–2025). "Obvious 3D printer technology based on 09. Prior Counteraction". Appropedia. Retrieved October 3, 2026.
API queries basic, semantic, html, files, more