Patent Document ID: 20130328227
Application ID: 13912653
Patent Status: 0

Claim One:
1. A method for monitoring operation of a system for fabricating a three dimensional model by successive deposition of at least one material comprising at least one of a model material for form the model and at least one subsequently removed sacrificial material for supporting the model material during fabrication of the model, the system including a workpiece platform for supporting the composite model during fabrication and a tool platform for supporting a camera and at least one material deposition device for depositing the at least one material on layers of the model, with the at least one material deposition device and the camera having a known orientation and planar relationship with a tool platform reference plane and the workpiece platform and the tool platform being positional with respect to each other along an X axis, a Y axis and a Z axis, the method comprising the steps of: depositing at least one test pattern comprised of the at least one material on at least one imaging surface related to one of a present and an existing layer of the composite model, the workpiece platform, a test surface and a currently topmost layer of the model, capturing an image of the at least one test pattern, and examining the image of the at least one test pattern to determine at least one characteristic of the test pattern representing operation of the fabrication system.