[Discuss] 3D printing patents

[Robert Cornell]

Hello,

RepRapPro have a blog post
https://reprappro.com/2014/04/15/multimaterial-research/ and I've been
playing with the idea.
It's a better method that would make the patent mentioned irrelevant.

When Stratasys took over MakerBot and they closed their design there was a
lot of discussion about how they cashed out
on open source efforts. I suppose something like this was inevitable.

I can't recall seeing this exact method before so maybe they did 'invent'
it. I'm going to read the patent and dig into the archives.

Rob
--
openpart.co.uk




On 13 May 2014 17:28, Matt Maier <blueback09 at gmail.com> wrote:

> What do y'all think about this?
>
> http://3dprint.com/3187/makerbot-3d-printer-invention/
>
> *"Makerbot has invented a new type of process which, if it works properly,
> will allow 3D printers to change build material mid print.  They have filed
> a patent to protect this solution over a year and a half ago, but just
> recently was it published for the public to see, and 3DPrint.com has
> uncovered it."*
> *"The multiple materials would be fed into their individual feeds, which
> are connected to a filament changer (or build material changer).  The
> filament changer would be able to slide the extrusion head from material to
> material, in a fluent motion.  It would also consist of a blade or other
> cutting edge, that would cut the 1st material before proceeding to the
> second"*
> *"It covers them for other types of print processes other than FDM, and
> also allows for two separate extruders to be alternately positioned along
> the tool path for a similar effect..."*
>
> It seems like this patent is exactly the sort of thing the community has
> been discussing. Did Makerbot really invent this, or are they trying to
> patent something that the open source community developed first? Is this an
> example of the sort of thing we'd want to respond to in a structured way,
> like doing the prior art search on behalf of the USPTO and pushing the
> results to them?
>
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