Patent ID: 10773454

Abstract:
A 3D printer is provided that includes a print head having an extruder (stepper) motor positioned to feed a filament into a heater, a X and Y print head positioning system configured to move the print head relative to a print surface, and a stepper driver operable to control the operation of the extruder motor. In one aspect, the 3D printer further includes a sensor module having a feed rate sensor positioned to detect a feed rate of the filament, and a control system programmed to: receive signals from the sensor module that are indicative of the feed rate of the filament, and control the operation of the stepper driver based on the signals from the sensor module. In a further aspect, the X and Y positioning system includes X and Y positioning motors and X and Y encoders positioned to sense the rotation of said positioning motors. The 3D printer further including a control system programmed to: send low level commands to the positioning motors to move the print head to a target position, and receive signals from the X and Y encoders indicative of the actual position of the print head and compensate for any detected errors.