Cross-reference to Related Application

[0001] This application claims the benefit of priority of Singapore patent application no. 10202000235T, filed on 10 January 2020, the contents of which being hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety for all purposes.

Technical Field

[0002] Various embodiments generally relate to a system for additive manufacturing of an article with an insert component embedded therein and a method of additive manufacturing of an article with an insert component embedded therein. In particular, various embodiments generally relate to a system for additive manufacturing of a metal article with an insert component embedded therein, a method of additive manufacturing of a metal article with an insert component embedded therein, a metal article and a substrate for a metal additive manufacturing process.

Background

[0003] Additive manufacturing using metal has been the fastest growing sector of the additive manufacturing industry for the past few years. Compared with traditional subtractive manufacturing, additive manufacturing offers a shorter production time and requires less human intervention as the process can be completely automated from a computer aided design (CAD) model. It is also more cost-effective due to the low buy-to- fly ratio through the production of near net- shape components. Based on the feedstock type, metal additive manufacturing can be categorized into two main production technologies, namely, powder bed fusion (PBF) and directed energy deposition (DED).

[0004] The most common combinations for DED printing are (i) laser and blown metal powder or (ii) plasma and wire metal feed. Part of the process has traditionally been the use of flat substrate on which the printed part is built upon. The substrate is normally a thick sheet or panel, approximately 2cm to 4cm thick, that the first layers of either powder or wire metal are melted onto. The substrate also helps dissipate the large amount of heat that builds up in the printed part during build. Conventionally, the challenge for additive manufacturing has always been the ability to print a wide range of cost-effective parts with increasing complexity. In conventional additive manufacturing, the manner in which the printed part is built from the substrate firmly attached to a table actually limits the complexity of parts that can be built. Firstly, the angles and sizes of overhangs that can be printed is limited in conventional additive manufacturing. Secondly, support structures are typically required to be built together with the printed part and such support structures are required to be removed after building, which again limits the complexity of parts that can be printed.

[0005] The limitations of conventional additive manufacturing lead to three significant challenges in DED additive manufacturing. Firstly, it restricts the geometry of printed parts that can be built to those that do not have overhangs of more than 40% from either vertical or a “formed” vertical by angling the substrate or nozzle; secondly, there is the additional cost of the substrate and post-print removal of the substrate from the finished part; and thirdly, after the deposition phase is completed, the printed part will need to be machined and this entails removing the printed part from the substrate and setting the printed part in a CNC or equivalent machine that requires a new datum point to be set to ensure accurate machining.

[0006] Accordingly, there is a need for a more effective and versatile solution to address the above issues.

Summary [0007] According to various embodiments, there is provided a system for additive manufacturing of an article with an insert component embedded therein. The system including an additive manufacturing tool having a deposition head for depositing materials. The system further including a manipulator to hold and move the insert component relative to the deposition head of the additive manufacturing tool in a manner so as to be capable of presenting different orientations of the insert component to the deposition head of the additive manufacturing tool for depositing materials layer by layer over the insert component to build the article with the insert component being embedded as an integral part of the article.

[0008] According to various embodiments, there is provided a method of additive manufacturing an article with an insert component embedded therein. The method including providing the insert component to serve as a substrate from which the article is built. The method further including moving, via a manipulator, the insert component relative to a deposition head of an additive manufacturing tool in a manner so as to be capable of presenting different orientations of the insert component to the deposition head of the additive manufacturing tool for depositing materials layer by layer over the insert component to build the article with the insert component being embedded as an integral part of the article. [0009] According to various embodiments, there is provided a substrate for a metal additive manufacturing process. The substrate including an electronic identification unit. The substrate including an inner shell enclosing the electronic identification unit. The inner shell being made of thermal insulation material. The substrate including an outer metal casing encapsulating the inner shell. The outer metal casing is made of a same metal material as that to be used in the metal additive manufacturing process such that a metal article is to be built with the substrate integrally embedded within the metal article by the metal additive manufacturing process.

[00010] According to various embodiments, there is provided a metal article. The metal article including a metal body. The metal article including an insert component embedded in the metal body. The insert component including an electronic identification unit. The insert component including an inner shell enclosing the electronic identification unit. The inner shell being made of thermal insulation material. The insert component including an outer metal casing encapsulating the inner shell. The outer metal casing of the insert component is made of a same metal material as that of the metal body. The metal body is integrally printed over the outer metal casing of the insert component such that the insert component is integrally embedded within the metal body as an integral part of the metal article.

Brief description of the drawings [00011] In the drawings, like reference characters generally refer to the same parts throughout the different views. The drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead generally being placed upon illustrating the principles of the invention. In the following description, various embodiments are described with reference to the following drawings, in which: FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of a system for additive manufacturing of an article with an insert component embedded therein according to various embodiments;

FIG. 2A to FIG. 2D show schematic diagrams illustrating the wider build flexibility allowed by the system of FIG. 1 according to various embodiments; FIG. 3 shows a schematic diagram of a method of additive manufacturing the article with the insert component embedded therein according to various embodiment;

FIG. 4 shows further details of the method of FIG. 3 according to various embodiments;

FIG. 5 shows further details of the method of FIG. 3, in particular, the procedure for developing the insert component prior to fabricating or printing or building the insert component according to various embodiments;

FIG. 6 shows a schematic flow diagram of a method of accessing stored data with the insert component according to various embodiments;

FIG. 7A shows a cutaway view of the insert component of FIG. 1 according to various embodiments;

FIG. 7B shows an exploded view of the insert component of FIG. 1 according to various embodiments;

FIG. 8 shows a schematic cross-section of an example article fabricated or printed or built by the system of FIG. 1 and method of FIG. 3 according to various embodiments;

FIG. 9 shows an experimental set up for demonstrating that the insert component may be used for positioning as well as identification purposes; and

FIG. 10 shows a graphical representation of the connectivity vs coverage area.

Detailed description

[00012] Embodiments described below in the context of the apparatus are analogously valid for the respective methods, and vice versa. Furthermore, it will be understood that the embodiments described below may be combined, for example, a part of one embodiment may be combined with a part of another embodiment.

[00013] It should be understood that the terms “on”, “over”, “top”, “bottom”, “down”, “side”, “back”, “left”, “right”, “front”, “lateral”, “side”, “up”, “down” etc., when used in the following description are used for convenience and to aid understanding of relative positions or directions, and not intended to limit the orientation of any device, or structure or any part of any device or structure. In addition, the singular terms “a”, “an”, and “the” include plural references unless context clearly indicates otherwise. Similarly, the word “or” is intended to include “and” unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

[00014] Various embodiments generally relate to a system for additive manufacturing of an article with an insert component embedded therein and a method of additive manufacturing of an article with an insert component embedded therein. According to various embodiments, additive manufacturing refers to building of three dimensional (3D) objects in a layer by layer approach. Various embodiments are directed to a system and a method of fabricating or printing or building an article with an insert component embedded therein in an integral manner via a single additive manufacturing process without requiring the insert component to be separately embedded after fabricating or printing or building the article. According to various embodiments, the system and method may fabricate or print or build the article over the insert component such that the insert component may be embedded in the article upon completion of fabricating or printing or building the article via additive manufacturing. Accordingly, the article may be fabricated or printed or built in a manner so as to surround or envelop or encapsulate the insert component during additive manufacturing. Thus, the method and system of the various embodiments may output a complete finished article with the insert component embedded therein upon completion of fabrication or printing or building via additive manufacturing. According to various embodiments, the insert component may become an integral part of the finished article fabricated or printed or built by the system and method of the various embodiments. [00015] According to various embodiments, the article may be a metal article. Accordingly, various embodiments may generally relate to a system for additive manufacturing of the metal article with the insert component embedded therein, a method of additive manufacturing of the metal article with the insert component embedded therein, the metal article having the insert component embedded therein, and a substrate for a metal additive manufacturing process such that the substrate is embedded in the metal article. Hence, the method and system of the various embodiments may use metal for additive manufacturing of the metal article with the insert component embedded therein. According to various embodiments, the metal for additive manufacturing may include, but not limited to, titanium, steel, stainless steel, aluminium, copper, gold, platinum, palladium, silver, cobalt chrome alloy, titanium alloy, aluminum alloy, or nickel -based alloy (such as Inconel). According to various embodiments, an exterior of the insert component may also be made of metal. According to various embodiments, the exterior of the insert component may be made of the same material for additive manufacturing of the article. According to various embodiments, additive manufacturing of the metal article may include, but not limited to, the directed energy deposition process. [00016] Various embodiments seek to provide a system and a method to fabricate or build or print an article (e.g. a 3D object or part) with additive manufacturing (e.g. directed energy deposition additive manufacturing) using the insert component serving as a substrate (or a “core”) that may become an integral part of the finished article (or the built 3D object or the final part). According to various embodiments, the insert component may include an electronic identification unit (or a microchip or a radio-frequency identification (RFID)) that may allow improved manufacturing productivity as well as allow data storage for improving the usage of the finished article during post-manufacture applications. Various embodiments may be applicable for industrial users of additive manufacturing printer technology. [00017] Various embodiments also seek to address one or more of the following challenges as well as to provide one or more of the following advantages. Various embodiments may provide a custom shaped piece of insert component (e.g. a metal insert component) that replaces the traditional substrate in that the first layers of the additive manufacturing build may be directly melted or formed onto insert component such that the insert component may become an integral part of the finished article (or the built 3D object or the final part). Further, the insert component may be held and manipulated by a manipulator (e.g. a robot arm) such that it may present a range of angles and surfaces to a deposition head of an additive manufacturing tool (e.g., a directed energy deposition tool) to increase the range of complex shapes and overhangs that may be built. Accordingly, the insert component may serve as a substrate that is capable of being held and manipulated by the manipulator for additive manufacturing (or additive building) of complex shapes and overhangs with the additive manufacturing tool. According to various embodiments, this approach may reduce cost as the insert component serving as the substrate may become part of the finished article and may increases the complexity of the article that may be manufactured by additive manufacturing (e.g. the directed energy deposition additive manufacturing).

[00018] Additionally, the insert component of the various embodiments, which serve as the substrate for the additive manufacturing system and method of the various embodiments, may include the electronic identification unit (e.g. microchip or RFID) or equivalent inserted in the insert component before additive manufacturing (e.g. directed energy deposition additive manufacturing) commences. According to various embodiments, the electronic identification unit may, with the aid of external equipment, establish the spatial position of insert component allowing an accurate datum point to be set for the additive manufacturing steps. According to various embodiments, the electronic identification unit may also allow a sensor to read a unique code that may, firstly, allow the position of the article to be accurately identified for traceability purposes, and, secondly, allow a link to a content management system that may give the user information stored about the article on a computer, including all the manufacturing steps, testing, inspections, materials, point of manufacturer as well as information about the use of the article (or the article has been subjected to) since the start of the article being put into use (or starting to be used), for example, information such as route it is has travelled, service history, replacement mean time to failure (MTTF), load bearing times, etc.

[00019] According to various embodiments, the insert component may be of a custom shape, may be configured to become an integral part (or integral element) of the finished article, and may be configured such that it may be flexibly manipulated by the manipulator during the additive manufacturing (or additive building) phase which hugely widens the range and complexity of the article that can be fabricated, printed or built. According to various embodiments, by inserting the electronic identification unit (e.g. microchip or RFID) into the insert component, further improvements to manufacturing productivity may be achieved. Firstly, the insert component may allow an exact position to be established enabling a faster datum point setting process to be achieved that may cut manufacturing steps and time. Secondly, the insert component may emit a unique code which a user may establish a link to a computer with a content management system to access stored data about the article during additive manufacturing as well as post-manufacture. Further, according to various embodiments, the criticality of establishing an exact datum point may be twofold. Firstly, it may allow for accurate analysis of the build progress and position of the article for subsequent deposition and/or subtractive work. Secondly, it may remove the requirement to reset the datum point for subsequent steps.

[00020] The following examples pertain to various embodiments.

[00021] Example 1 is a system for additive manufacturing of an article with an insert component embedded therein, the system including: an additive manufacturing tool having a deposition head for depositing materials; and a manipulator to hold and move the insert component relative to the deposition head of the additive manufacturing tool in a manner so as to be capable of presenting different orientations of the insert component to the deposition head of the additive manufacturing tool for depositing materials layer by layer over the insert component to build the article with the insert component being embedded as an integral part of the article.

[00022] In Example 2, the subject matter of Example 1 may optionally include that the additive manufacturing tool may include a directed energy deposition tool.

[00023] In Example 3, the subject matter of Example 1 or 2 may optionally include a processing unit, wherein the processing unit may be connected to the additive manufacturing tool to provide instructions for operating the additive manufacturing tool, and wherein the processing unit may be connected to the manipulator to provide instructions for moving the insert component.

[00024] In Example 4, the subject matter of Example 3 may optionally include that the processing unit may be configured to analyse a model of the article to segment the model of the article into different segmented parts to be built in sequence from the insert component with the different segmented parts respectively associated with the different orientations of the insert component for presenting to the deposition head of the additive manufacturing tool by the manipulator and to slice each of the different segmented parts into layers for additive manufacturing by the additive manufacturing tool.

[00025] In Example 5, the subject matter of Example 4 may optionally include that the processing unit may be configured to determine a placement path for moving the insert component relative to the deposition head of the additive manufacturing tool so as to present a corresponding orientation of the insert component to the deposition head of the additive manufacturing tool for building a corresponding segmented part; and send instructions to the manipulator for moving the insert component based on the placement path.

[00026] In Example 6, the subject matter of Example 5 may optionally include that the processing unit may be configured to determine a building path for moving the insert component and the deposition head of the additive manufacturing tool relative to each other so as to build the corresponding segmented part when the corresponding orientation of the insert component is presented to the deposition head of the additive manufacturing tool; and send instructions to the manipulator and the additive manufacturing tool for building the corresponding segmented part based on the building path.

[00027] In Example 7, the subject matter of any one of Examples 3 to 6 may optionally include a sensing arrangement, wherein the sensing arrangement may be configured to obtain measurements of the article built, wherein the processing unit may be configured to compare the measurements against the model of the article to determine a difference and to generate a corrective action based on the difference.

[00028] In Example 8, the subject matter of Example 7 may optionally include that the processing unit may be configured to send instructions to the manipulator for moving the insert component based on the corrective action to present a pre-determined orientation of the insert component to the deposition head of the additive manufacturing tool for the corrective action, and send instructions to the manipulator and the additive manufacturing tool for moving the insert component relative to the deposition head of the additive manufacturing tool to rectify the article built based on the corrective action.

[00029] In Example 9, the subject matter of Example 7 or 8 may optionally include a subtractive manufacturing tool having a subtractive head for removing materials, wherein the manipulator may be capable of presenting the different orientations of the insert component to the subtractive head of the subtractive manufacturing tool for removing the materials deposited by the deposition head of the additive manufacturing tool.

[00030] In Example 10, the subject matter of Example 9 may optionally include that the processing unit may be connected to the subtractive manufacturing tool to provide instructions for operating the subtractive manufacturing tool to remove the materials, wherein the processing unit may be configured to send instructions to the manipulator for moving the insert component based on the corrective action to present a pre-determined subtractive orientation of the insert component to the subtractive head of the subtractive manufacturing tool for the corrective action, and send instructions to the manipulator and the subtractive manufacturing tool for moving the insert component relative to the subtractive head of the subtractive manufacturing tool to rectify the article built based on the corrective action.

[00031] In Example 11, the subject matter of any one of Examples 3 to 10 may optionally include that the processing unit may be configured to determine based on the model of the article whether to generate a new geometry for the insert component.

[00032] In Example 12, the subject matter of Example 11 may optionally include that the processing unit may be configured to generate the new geometry for the insert component based on a fit requirement according to the model of the article, a build requirement of the additive manufacturing tool, and a grip requirement of the manipulator.

[00033] In Example 13, the subject matter of any one of Examples 3 to 12 may optionally include that the insert component may include an electronic identification unit. [00034] In Example 14, the subject matter of Example 13 may optionally include that the processing unit may be configured to determine a spatial relation between the insert component and the deposition head of the additive manufacturing tool based on the electronic identification unit so as to establish a datum for moving, via the manipulator, the insert component relative to the deposition head of the additive manufacturing tool.

[00035] In Example 15, the subject matter of Example 13 in combination with Example 10 may optionally include that the processing unit may be configured to determine a spatial relation between the insert component and the subtractive head of the subtractive manufacturing tool based on the electronic identification unit so as to establish a datum for moving, via the manipulator, the insert component relative to the subtractive head of the subtractive manufacturing tool.

[00036] In Example 16, the subject matter of any one of Examples 13 to 15may optionally include that the processing unit may be configured to retrieve stored data relating to the article from a storage medium based on an identification code provided by the electronic identification unit.

[00037] In Example 17, the subject matter of any one of Examples 1 to 16 may optionally include that the materials deposited by the deposition head of the additive manufacturing tool and an exterior of the insert component may be made of a same material.

[00038] In Example 18, the subject matter of any one of Examples 1 to 17 may optionally include that the article may be a metal article, the materials deposited by the deposition head of the additive manufacturing tool may be a metal, and an exterior of the insert component may be made of the metal.

[00039] Example 19 is a method of additive manufacturing an article with an insert component embedded therein, the method comprising: providing the insert component to serve as a substrate from which the article is built; moving, via a manipulator, the insert component relative to a deposition head of an additive manufacturing tool in a manner so as to be capable of presenting different orientations of the insert component to the deposition head of the additive manufacturing tool for depositing materials layer by layer over the insert component to build the article with the insert component being embedded as an integral part of the article.

[00040] In Example 20, the subject matter of Example 19 may optionally include that moving the insert component relative to the deposition head of the additive manufacturing tool may include one or both of positioning and orienting the insert component relative to the deposition head of the additive manufacturing tool.

[00041] In Example 21, the subject matter of Example 19 or 20 may optionally include analysing, via a processing unit, a model of the article to segment the model of the article into different segmented parts to be built in sequence from the insert component with the different segmented parts respectively associated with the different orientations of the insert component for presenting to the deposition head of the additive manufacturing tool by the manipulator and to slice each of the different segmented parts into layers for additive manufacturing by the additive manufacturing tool.

[00042] In Example 22, the subject matter of Example 21 may optionally include determining, via the processing unit, a placement path for moving the insert component relative to the deposition head of the additive manufacturing tool so as to present a corresponding orientation of the insert component to the deposition head of the additive manufacturing tool for building a corresponding segmented part.

[00043] In Example 23, the subject matter of Example 22 may optionally include determining a building path for moving the insert component and the deposition head of the additive manufacturing tool relative to each other so as to build the corresponding segmented part when the corresponding orientation of the insert component is presented to the deposition head of the additive manufacturing tool.

[00044] In Example 24, the subject matter of any one of Examples 21 to 23 may optionally include obtaining, via a sensing arrangement, measurements of the article built; and comparing, via the processing unit, the measurements against the model of the article to determine a difference and to generate a corrective action based on the difference.

[00045] In Example 25, the subject matter of Example 24 may optionally include moving, via the manipulator, the insert component relative to the deposition head of the additive manufacturing tool to present a pre-determined orientation of the insert component to the deposition head of the additive manufacturing tool for the corrective action; and moving the insert component and the deposition head of the additive manufacturing tool relative to each other based on the corrective action for rectifying the article built.

[00046] In Example 26, the subject matter of Example 24 or 25 may optionally include moving, via the manipulator, the insert component relative to a subtractive head of a subtractive manufacturing tool to present a pre-determined subtractive orientation of the insert component to the subtractive head of the subtractive manufacturing tool for the corrective action; and moving the insert component and the subtractive head of the subtractive manufacturing tool relative to each other based on the corrective action for removing the materials deposited by the deposition head of the additive manufacturing tool to rectify the article built.

[00047] In Example 27, the subject matter of any one of Examples 21 to 26 may optionally include that providing the insert component may include determining, via the processing unit, based on the model of the article whether to generate a new geometry for the insert component.

[00048] In Example 28, the subject matter of Example 27 may optionally include that providing the insert component may include generating the new geometry for the insert component based on a fit requirement according to the model of the article, a build requirement of the additive manufacturing tool, and a grip requirement of the manipulator. [00049] In Example 29, the subject matter of any one of Examples 21 to 28 may optionally include that the insert component may include an electronic identification unit.

[00050] In Example 30, the subject matter of Example 29 may optionally include determining a spatial relation between the insert component and the deposition head of the additive manufacturing tool based on the electronic identification unit so as to establish a datum for moving, via the manipulator, the insert component relative to the deposition head of the additive manufacturing tool.

[00051] In Example 31, the subject matter of Example 29 in combination with Example 26 may optionally include determining a spatial relation between the insert component and the subtractive head of the subtractive manufacturing tool based on the electronic identification unit so as to establish a datum for moving, via the manipulator, the insert component relative to the subtractive head of the subtractive manufacturing tool.

[00052] In Example 32, the subject matter of any one of Examples 29 to 31 may optionally include retrieving stored data relating to the article from a storage medium based on an identification code provided by the electronic identification unit.

[00053] In Example 33, the subject matter of any one of Examples 19 to 32 may optionally include that the materials deposited by the deposition head of the additive manufacturing tool and an exterior of the insert component may be made of a same material.

[00054] In Example 34, the subject matter of any one of Examples 19 to 33 may optionally include that the article is a metal article, the materials deposited by the deposition head of the additive manufacturing tool is a metal, and an exterior of the insert component is made of the metal.

[00055] Example 35 is a substrate for a metal additive manufacturing process, the substrate including: an electronic identification unit; an inner shell enclosing the electronic identification unit, the inner shell being made of thermal insulation material; and an outer metal casing encapsulating the inner shell, wherein the outer metal casing is made of a same metal material as that to be used in the metal additive manufacturing process such that a metal article is to be built with the substrate integrally embedded within the metal article by the metal additive manufacturing process.

[00056] In Example 36, the subject matter of Example 35 may optionally include that the electronic identification unit may include a microchip or a radio-frequency identification (RFID).

[00057] In Example 37, the subject matter of Example 35 or 36 may optionally include that the electronic identification unit may be configured to interact with an external sensing device for establishing a datum to move the substrate relative to a deposition head of an additive manufacturing tool during the metal additive manufacturing process.

[00058] In Example 38, the subject matter of Example 35 or 36 may optionally include that the electronic identification unit may be configured to provide an identification code capable of being detected by an external sensing device.

[00059] Example 39 is a metal article including: a metal body; and an insert component embedded in the metal body, the insert component including an electronic identification unit; an inner shell enclosing the electronic identification unit, the inner shell being made of thermal insulation material; and an outer metal casing encapsulating the inner shell, wherein the outer metal casing of the insert component is made of a same metal material as that of the metal body, wherein the metal body is integrally printed over the outer metal casing of the insert component such that the insert component is integrally embedded within the metal body as an integral part of the metal article.

[00060] In Example 40, the subject matter of Example 39 may optionally include that the electronic identification unit may include a microchip or a radio-frequency identification (RFID).

[00061] In Example 41, the subject matter of Example 39 or 40 may optionally include that the electronic identification unit may be configured to interact with an external sensing device for establishing a datum to move the electronic identification assembly relative to a deposition head of an additive manufacturing tool for integrally printing the metal body over the outer metal casing of the electronic identification assembly.

[00062] In Example 42, the subject matter of Example 39 or 40 may optionally include that the electronic identification unit may be configured to provide an identification code capable of being detected by an external sensing device.

[00063] In Example 43, the subject matter of any one of Examples 39 to 42 may optionally include that an overall dimension of the outer metal casing of the electronic identification unit may be smaller than an overall dimension of the metal body.

[00064] FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of a system 100 for additive manufacturing of an article with an insert component 102 embedded therein according to various embodiments. According to various embodiments, the system 100 may include an additive manufacturing tool 110. The additive manufacturing tool 110 may include a deposition head 112. According to various embodiments, the additive manufacturing tool 110 may be configured to deposit material via the deposition head 112 for depositing or adding materials to fabricate or print or build the article. Accordingly, the materials may be dispensed or supplied from a nozzle 114 of the deposition head 112 so as to be deposited for fabricating or printing or building the article.

[00065] According to various embodiments, the system 100 may include a manipulator 120. According to various embodiments, the manipulator 120 may hold and move the insert component 102 relative to the deposition head 112 of the additive manufacturing tool 110. According to various embodiments, the insert component 102 may be a component-to-be- embedded. Hence, the manipulator 120 may hold and move the insert component 102 prior to the article being fully completed (or during additive manufacturing). According to various embodiments, the insert component 102 may be retained or adhered or grasped or clamped or gripped by the manipulator 120. For example, the manipulator 120 may include an end- effector 122 in the form of a fastener for retaining or attaching or securing the insert component 102 to the end-effector; or the end-effector 122 may be in the form of an adhesive element for adhering the insert component 102 to the end-effector; or the end- effector 122 may be in the form of a gripper for gripping the insert component 102, or the end-effector 122 may be in the form of a clamp for clamping the insert component 102, or the end-effector 122 may be in the form of fingers for grasping the insert component 102. According to various embodiments, with the insert component 102 held by the end-effector 122 of the manipulator 120, the insert component 102 may be moved by the end-effector 122 of the manipulator 120. According to various embodiments, the manipulator 120 may be a mechanical device for remote handling of objects providing at least one or a combination of pitch, roll or spin to the object for placement. According to various embodiments, the manipulator 120 may include link members joined by motor-actuated joints. According to various embodiments, the manipulator 120 may include, but not limited to, a robot arm, an industrial robot, or an articulated robot,

[00066] According to various embodiments, the manipulator 120 may be capable of presenting different orientations of the insert component 102 to the deposition head 112 of the additive manufacturing tool 110. The different orientations of the insert component 102 may refer to different angular positions or directions of the insert component 102. According to various embodiments, in the different orientations of the insert component 102, a different face, edge or vertex of the insert component 102 may be directed to or facing or pointing to the nozzle 114 of the deposition head 112 of the additive manufacturing tool 110. Accordingly, the materials may be dispensed or supplied from the nozzle 114 of the deposition head 112 for depositing or adding materials over the insert component 102 to fabricate or print or build the article with different orientations of the insert component 102 being presented to the deposition head 112 of the additive manufacturing tool 110.

[00067] According to various embodiments, with the manipulator 120 holding and moving the insert component 102 to change the orientation of the insert component 102 with respect to the nozzle 114 of the deposition head 112 of the additive manufacturing tool 110, the materials may be deposited layer by layer by the deposition head 112 of the additive manufacturing tool 110 over the insert component 102 to build the article with the insert component 102 being incorporated as an integral part of the article. Accordingly, the insert component 102 may serve as a substrate or a base on which the materials may be deposited by the deposition head 112 of the additive manufacturing tool 110 and from which the article may be fabricated or printed or built with the insert component 102 being surrounded or enveloped or incorporated into the article so as to become part of the article. Hence, the materials may be added or deposited or printed or built over the insert component 102 to form the article. Thus, the article may be overprinted onto the insert component 102 with the insert component 102 being movable relative to the deposition head 112 of the additive manufacturing tool 110 so as to change the orientation of the insert component 102 presented to the deposition head 112 of the additive manufacturing tool 110 for depositing or adding or the materials during additive manufacturing.

[00068] According to various embodiments, complex shapes and overhangs which are typically not buildable via additive manufacturing without support structures may be fabricated or printed or built by the system 100 by presenting an orientation of the insert component 102 to the deposition head 112 of the additive manufacturing tool 110 which allows fabricating or printing or building of the complex shapes and/or overhangs without requiring any support structures. Accordingly, fabricating or printing or building the article via the system 100 of the various embodiments may be more efficient and effective with minimal waste.

[00069] According to various embodiments, the system 100 may include a processing unit 130. According to various embodiments, the processing unit 130 may be connected to the additive manufacturing tool 110. According to various embodiments, the processing unit 130 may provide instructions to the additive manufacturing tool 110 for operating the additive manufacturing tool 110 to deposit the materials for fabricating or printing or building the article. According to various embodiments, the processing unit 130 may be connected to the manipulator 120. According to various embodiments, the processing unit 130 may provide instructions to the manipulator 120 to move the insert component 102 to present the different orientations of the insert component 102 to the deposition head 112 of the additive manufacturing tool 110 during additive manufacturing such that the article may be fabricated or printed or built over the insert component 102. According to various embodiments, the processing unit may coordinate the operation of the additive manufacturing tool 110 and the movement of the insert component 102 via the manipulator 120 such that the additive manufacturing tool 110 and the manipulator 120 work together to deposit or add the materials onto and/or over the insert component 102 (which serves as the substrate) for fabricating or printing or building the article with the insert component 102 embedded therein during additive manufacturing.

[00070] In various embodiments, the "processing unit" may be understood as any kind of a logic implementing entity, which may be special purpose circuitry or a processor executing software stored in a memory, firmware, or any combination thereof. Thus, in an embodiment, the "processing unit" may be a hard- wired logic circuit or a programmable logic circuit such as a programmable processor, e.g. a microprocessor (e.g. a Complex Instruction Set Computer (CISC) processor or a Reduced Instruction Set Computer (RISC) processor). The "processing unit" may also be a processor executing software, e.g. any kind of computer program, e.g. a computer program using a virtual machine code such as e.g. Java. Any other kind of implementation of the respective functions which are described in more detail throughout may also be understood as the "processing unit" in accordance with various embodiments. In various embodiments, the “processing unit” may be part of a computing system or a controller or a microcontroller or any other system providing a processing capability. According to various embodiments, such systems may include a memory which is for example used in the processing carried out by the device or system. A memory used in the embodiments may be a volatile memory, for example a DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory) or a non-volatile memory, for example a PROM (Programmable Read Only Memory), an EPROM (Erasable PROM), EEPROM (Electrically Erasable PROM), or a flash memory, e.g., a floating gate memory, a charge trapping memory, an MRAM (Magneto-resistive Random Access Memory) or a PCRAM (Phase Change Random Access Memory).

[00071] According to various embodiments, the processing unit 130 may be configured to analyse a model of the article. The model of the article may be a computer aided design (CAD) model of the article. According to various embodiments, the processing unit 130 may be configured to segment the model of the article into different segmented parts to be built in sequence from the insert component 102. According to various embodiments, the processing unit 130 may respectively associate the different segmented parts with the different orientations of the insert component 102 based on suitability of fabricating or printing or building a corresponding segmented part in a corresponding orientation of the insert component 102. By associating the different segmented parts with the different orientations of the insert component 102, the insert component 102 may be moved into the different orientations for presenting to the deposition head of the additive manufacturing tool by the manipulator 120 to respectively build the different segmented parts. According to various embodiments, the processing unit 130 may be further configured to slice each of the different segmented parts into layers for additive manufacturing by the additive manufacturing tool 110.

[00072] According to various embodiments, the processing unit 130 may be configured to determine a placement path for moving the insert component 102 relative to the deposition head 112 of the additive manufacturing tool 110 so as to present the corresponding orientation of the insert component 102 to the deposition head 112 of the additive manufacturing tool 110 for building or printing or fabricating the corresponding segmented part. According to various embodiments, the placement path may be determined based on an actual current orientation of the insert component 102 obtained or an assumed orientation of the insert component 102 according to previous segmented part being built and a desired orientation of the insert component 102 for the segmented part to be built. Accordingly, the placement path may move the insert component 102 from the actual current orientation or the assumed orientation into the desired orientation. Hence, the placement path may move the insert component 102 into the corresponding orientation for building or printing or fabricating the corresponding segmented part. According to various embodiments, the processing unit 130 may be configured to determine a placement path for moving the insert component 102 relative to the deposition head 112 of the additive manufacturing tool 110 between fabricating or printing or building two consecutive segmented parts. According to various embodiments, the processing unit 130 may also be configured to determine a placement path for moving the insert component 102 relative to the deposition head 112 of the additive manufacturing tool 110 for fabricating or printing or building a first segmented part directly onto the insert component 102.

[00073] According to various embodiments, the processing unit 130 may be configured to send instructions to the manipulator 120 for moving the insert component 102 based on the placement path determined. According to various embodiments, the manipulator 120 may receive the instructions from the processing unit 130 and move the insert component 102 accordingly to present the corresponding orientation of the insert component 102 to the deposition head 112 of the additive manufacturing tool 110 for building or printing or fabricating the corresponding segmented part.

[00074] According to various embodiments, the processing unit 130 may be configured to determine a building path for moving the insert component 102 and the deposition head 112 of the additive manufacturing tool 110 relative to each other so as to build or print or fabricate the corresponding segmented part when the corresponding orientation of the insert component 102 is presented to the deposition head of the additive manufacturing tool. According to various embodiments, the building path may be determined based on the layers of the corresponding segmented part sliced for additive manufacturing. Accordingly, the building path may be for depositing or adding the materials in a layer by layer approach for fabricating or printing or building the corresponding segmented part.

[00075] According to various embodiments, the processing unit 130 may be configured to send instructions to the manipulator 120 and the additive manufacturing tool 110 for building or printing or fabricating the corresponding segmented part based on the building path. According to various embodiments, the additive manufacturing tool 110 may be stationary and the manipulator 120 may move or translate the insert component 102 relative to the deposition head 112 of the additive manufacturing tool 110 such that the materials may be deposited layer by layer. Accordingly, the manipulator 120 may receive instructions to move the insert component 102 and the additive manufacturing tool 110 may receive instructions to deposit the materials. According to various embodiments, the manipulator 120 may hold the insert component 102 stationary and the deposition head 112 of the additive manufacturing tool 110 may be moved relative to the insert component 102 such that the materials may be deposited layer by layer. Accordingly, the manipulator 120 may receive instructions to hold the insert component 102 stationary and the additive manufacturing tool 110 may receive instructions to move the deposition head 112 and to deposit the materials.

[00076] According to various embodiments, the system 100 may include a sensing arrangement 140. According to various embodiments, the sensing arrangement 140 may include an inspection sensing sub -arrangement 142 configured to obtain measurements of the article built. Accordingly, upon completion of a fabrication or printing or building cycle, the inspection sensing sub-arrangement 142 of the sensing arrangement 140 may scan the article built to determine the measurements of the article built. According to various embodiments, one fabrication or printing or building cycle may be based on fabrication or printing or building of one layer, or fabrication or printing or building of one segmented part, or fabrication or printing or building of the entire article. According to various embodiments, the inspection sensing sub-arrangement 142 of the sensing arrangement 140 may include, but not limited to, a camera, an infrared scanner, an ultrasonic scanner, a laser scanner, or a structured light scanner. According to various embodiments, the inspection sensing sub-arrangement 142 of the sensing arrangement 140 may be connected to the processing unit 130 for sending the measurements of the article built to the processing unit 130.

[00077] According to various embodiments, the processing unit 130 may be configured to compare the measurements obtained against the model of the article. According to various embodiments, the processing unit 130 may be configured to determine a difference between the measurements obtained and the model of the article. According to various embodiments, the processing unit 130 may be configured to determine whether the different is within an acceptable tolerance. If the difference is within the acceptable tolerance, the processing unit 130 may determine that the article built is acceptable and that the additive manufacturing process is completed. If the difference is outside or larger than the acceptable tolerance, the processing unit 130 may determine that the difference may need to be rectified. Accordingly, the processing unit 130 may generate a corrective action based on the difference. According to various embodiments, the corrective action may include fabricating or printing or building one or more additional layers and/or machining, via subtractive manufacturing, such that the rectified article may fit within the acceptable tolerance.

[00078] According to various embodiments, when the corrective action includes fabricating or printing or building one or more additional layers, the processing unit 130 may be configured to send instructions to the manipulator 120 for moving the insert component 102 based on the corrective action to present a pre-determined orientation of the insert component 102 to the deposition head 112 of the additive manufacturing tool 110 for the corrective action. Accordingly, with the insert component 102 being embedded in the article built, moving the insert component 102 may move the article built in a corresponding manner. According to various embodiments, the pre-determined orientation of the insert component 102 may be based on the segmented part of the article built that requires rectification. According to various embodiments, the processing unit 130 may generate a corrective placement path for moving the insert component 102 to present the pre determined orientation of the insert component 102 to the deposition head 112 of the additive manufacturing tool 110 for the corrective action to rectify the segmented part of the article built that requires rectification. Accordingly, the processing unit 130 may send instructions to the manipulator 120 based on the corrective placement path to move the insert component 102 for moving the article built accordingly. [00079] According to various embodiments, the processing unit 130 may be configured to send instructions to the manipulator 120 and the additive manufacturing tool 110 for moving the insert component 102 relative to the deposition head 112 of the additive manufacturing tool 110 to rectify the article built based on the corrective action. According to various embodiments, the processing unit 130 may generate a corrective building path for moving the insert component 102 relative to the deposition head 112 of the additive manufacturing tool 110 when the pre-determined orientation of the insert component 102 is presented to the deposition head 112 of the additive manufacturing tool 110 for the corrective action. According to various embodiments, the corrective building path may be based on a predetermined number of additional layers required for rectifying the article built. [00080] According to various embodiments, the system 100 may include a subtractive manufacturing tool 190. The subtractive manufacturing tool 190 may include a subtractive head 192. According to various embodiments, the subtractive manufacturing tool 190 may be configured to remove material via the subtractive head 192 for machining or cutting the article built. Accordingly, the article built may be shaped and/or sized into the desired shape and/or dimension.

[00081] According to various embodiments, the processing unit 130 may be connected to the subtractive manufacturing tool 190. According to various embodiments, the processing unit 130 may provide instructions to the subtractive manufacturing tool 190 for operating the subtractive manufacturing tool 190 to machine or cut the article built. According to various embodiments, the processing unit 130 may provide instructions to the manipulator 120 to move the insert component 102 to present the different orientations of the insert component 102 to the subtractive head 192 of the subtractive manufacturing tool 190 during machining or cutting such that the article built may be shaped and/or sized into the desired shape and/or dimension by removing materials from the article built. According to various embodiments, the processing unit may coordinate the operation of the subtractive manufacturing tool 110 and the movement of the insert component 102 via the manipulator 120 such that the subtractive manufacturing tool 110 and the manipulator 120 work together to remove the materials during subtractive manufacturing.

[00082] According to various embodiments, when the corrective action includes machining or cutting via subtractive manufacturing, the processing unit 130 may be configured to send instructions to the manipulator 120 for moving the insert component 102, as a means to move the article built, based on the corrective action to present a pre- determined subtractive orientation of the article built to the subtractive head 192 of the subtractive manufacturing tool 190 for the corrective action. The pre-determined subtractive orientation being the pre-determined orientation for subtractive manufacturing. According to various embodiments, the pre-determined subtractive orientation of the insert component 102 may be based on the segmented part of the article built that requires rectification. According to various embodiments, the processing unit 130 may generate a subtractive placement path for moving the insert component 102 to present the pre-determined subtractive orientation of the article built to the subtractive head 192 of the subtractive manufacturing tool 190 for the corrective action to rectify the segmented part of the article built that requires rectification. Accordingly, the processing unit 130 may send instructions to the manipulator 120 based on the subtractive placement path to move the insert component 102 for moving the article built accordingly.

[00083] According to various embodiments, the processing unit 130 may be configured to send instructions to the manipulator 120 and the additive manufacturing tool 110 for moving the article built relative to the subtractive head 192 of the subtractive manufacturing tool 190 to rectify the article built based on the corrective action. According to various embodiments, the processing unit 130 may generate a corrective subtractive path for moving the insert component 102 relative to the subtractive head 192 of the subtractive manufacturing tool 190 when the pre-determined subtractive orientation of the insert component 102 is presented to the subtractive head 192 of the subtractive manufacturing tool 190 for the corrective action. According to various embodiments, the corrective subtractive path may be based on a region of the article built that requires subtractive manufacturing processing.

[00084] According to various embodiments, prior to fabricating or printing or building the article, the processing unit 130 may be configured to determine, based on the model of the article to be built, whether to generate a new geometry for the insert component 102. According to various embodiments, the processing unit 130 may select a standard insert component for the article to be built. By analysing the model of the article to be built with a model of the standard insert component, the processing unit 130 may determine whether the standard insert component may impact the mechanical performance of the article and whether the standard insert component may allow fabricating or printing or building of the article with the insert component embedded therein based on the system 100. According to various embodiments, it the standard insert component may impact the mechanical performance and/or disallow fabricating or printing or building of the article with the insert component embedded therein based on the system 100, the processing unit 130 ma determine that a new geometry for the insert component 102 may be required.

[00085] According to various embodiments, the processing unit 130 may be configured to generate the new geometry for the insert component 102 based on a fit requirement according to the model of the article, a build requirement of the additive manufacturing tool 110, and a grip requirement of the manipulator 120. According to various embodiments, the fit requirement may be whether the insert component 102 may be successfully embedded within the article. According to various embodiments, the build requirement may be whether the article may be fabricated or printed or built onto and/or over the insert component 102. According to various embodiments, the grip requirement may be whether the insert component 102 may be held and moved by the manipulator 120.

[00086] According to various embodiments, the insert component 102 may include an electronic identification unit 150. According to various embodiments, the electronic identification unit 150 may include a microchip or a radio-frequency identification (RFID). According to various embodiments, the electronic identification unit 150 may provide signals relating to position, orientation and/or identification of the insert component 102. According to various embodiments, the signals may be active or passive signals.

[00087] According to various embodiments, the processing unit 130 may be configured to determine a spatial relation between the insert component 102 and the deposition head 112 of the additive manufacturing tool 110 based on the electronic identification unit 150 so as to establish a datum for moving, via the manipulator 120, the insert component 102 relative to the deposition head 112 of the additive manufacturing tool 110. According to various embodiments, the processing unit 130 may derive from the signals of the electronic identification unit 150 the spatial relation between the insert component 102 and the deposition head 112 of the additive manufacturing tool 110. Accordingly, the datum may be established for the placement path to move the insert component 102 relative to the deposition head 112 of the additive manufacturing tool 110. According to various embodiments, the processing unit 130 may be configured to determine a spatial relation between the insert component 102 and the subtractive head 192 of the subtractive manufacturing tool 190 based on the electronic identification unit 150 so as to establish a datum for moving, via the manipulator 120, the insert component 102 relative to the subtractive head 192 of the subtractive manufacturing tool 190. According to various embodiments, the processing unit 130 may derive from the signals of the electronic identification unit 150 the spatial relation between the insert component 102 and the subtractive head 192 of the subtractive manufacturing tool 190. Accordingly, the datum may be established for the subtractive placement path to move the insert component 102 relative to the subtractive head 192 of the subtractive manufacturing tool 190.

[00088] According to various embodiments, the sensing arrangement 140 may include a position sensing sub-arrangement 144. According to various embodiments, the position sensing sub-arrangement 144 of the sensing arrangement 140 may be configured to interact with the electronic identification unit 150 inside the insert component 102 for establishing the datum (or the reference position) to move the insert component 102 relative to the deposition head 112 of the additive manufacturing tool 110, or move the insert component 102 relative to the subtractive head 192 of the subtractive manufacturing tool 190. Accordingly, the position sensing sub-arrangement 144 of the sensing arrangement 140 may detect the signals of the electronic identification unit 150 and the processing unit 130 may establish the datum based on the signals detected. The position sensing sub-arrangement 144 of the sensing arrangement 140 may be considered an external sensing device from the perspective of the electronic identification unit 150. According to various embodiments, the position sensing sub-arrangement 144 of the sensing arrangement 140 may include positioning sensors or detectors or trackers or beacons for interacting with the electronic identification unit 150 inside the insert component 102 to obtain the signals for the processing unit 130. According to various embodiments, the position sensing sub arrangement 144 may interact with the electronic identification unit 150 inside the insert component 102 for determining a position and an orientation of the insert component 102 within an operating space and setting the datum for moving the insert component 102 via the processing unit 130.

[00089] According to various embodiments, the processing unit 130 may be configured to retrieve stored data relating to the article from a storage medium 160 based on an identification code provided by the electronic identification unit 150. According to various embodiments, the identification code may be carried in the signals from the electronic identification unit 150. According to various embodiments, the processing unit 130 may access the storage medium 160 with the identification code so as to retrieve stored data relating to the article. According to various embodiments, the stored data may include, but not limited to, CAD files for the article, materials information, parameters for the manipulator 120, parameters for additive manufacturing tools 110, simulation data, test data, etc. According to various embodiments, the stored data retrieved may be used by the system 100 for additive manufacturing of the article such that the insert component 102 is embedded therein.

[00090] According to various embodiments, the materials deposited by the deposition deposition head 112 of the additive manufacturing tool 110 and an exterior of the insert component 102 may be made of a same material or different materials that may bond or fuse together via additive manufacturing. Accordingly, the materials deposited by the deposition deposition head 112 of the additive manufacturing tool 110 onto and/or over the insert component 102 for fabricating or printing or building the article may integrally bond with the exterior of the insert component 102 such that the insert component 102 may be embedded within the article. According to various embodiments, the material of the exterior of the insert component 102 and the materials deposited by the deposition head 112 of the additive manufacturing tool 110 may include, but not limited to, polymers, ceramics and metals.

[00091] According to various embodiments, the article may be a metal article, the materials deposited by the deposition head 112 of the additive manufacturing tool 110 may be a metal, and the exterior of the insert component 102 may be made of the same metal or different metals that maybe bonded or fused together via additive manufacturing. Accordingly, the materials deposited by the deposition head 112 of the additive manufacturing tool 110 and the exterior of the insert component 102 may be of the same metal or different metals. According to various embodiments, the metal may include, but not limited to, titanium, steel, stainless steel, aluminium, copper, gold, platinum, palladium, silver, cobalt chrome alloy, titanium alloy, aluminum alloy, or nickel-based alloy (such as Inconel).

[00092] According to various embodiments, the additive manufacturing tool 110 may include a directed energy deposition tool. According to various embodiments, the directed energy deposition tool may utilize a focused energy source such as a plasma arc, a laser beam or an electron beam to melt the materials for depositing the materials during additive manufacturing.

[00093] According to various embodiments, the subtractive manufacturing tool 190 may include a milling tool, a cutting tool, an abrasive jet, or a grinding tool. [00094] FIG. 2A to FIG. 2D show schematic diagrams illustrating the wider build flexibility allowed by the system 100 according to various embodiments. FIG. 2A shows the insert component 102 being held by the end-effector 122 of the manipulator 120. According to various embodiments, the insert component 102 may be configured to be held by the manipulator 120. According to various embodiments, the insert component 102 may be fabricated based on a build strategy for fabricating or printing or building the article using the insert component 102 serving as the substrate and with the insert component 102 becoming an integral embedded art of the finished article.

[00095] FIG. 2B shows the insert component 102 moved (or rotated or repositioned) by the end-effector 122 of the manipulator 120 such that an orientation of the insert component 102 different from that as shown in FIG. 2A is presented to the deposition head 112 of the additive manufacturing tool 110. According to various embodiments, the orientation of the insert component 102 (as shown in FIG. 2B) presented to the deposition head 112 of the additive manufacturing tool 110 may have the best deposition facing such that new layers may be built effectively and efficiently.

[00096] FIG. 2C shows the insert component 102 moved (or rotated or repositioned) by the end-effector 122 of the manipulator 120 such that a further orientation of the insert component 102 different from that as shown in FIG. 2 A and FIG. 2B is presented to the deposition head 112 of the additive manufacturing tool 110. According to various embodiments, the further orientation of the insert component 102 (as shown in FIG. 2C) presented to the deposition head 112 of the additive manufacturing tool 110 may be ideal for production of the overhangs as shown in FIG. 2C. According to various embodiments, due to the change in orientation of the insert component 102 for fabricating or printing or building the overhangs, the system 100 according to the various embodiments may build steeper angle of overhangs without requiring to build any support structures along with the overhangs.

[00097] FIG. 2D shows the subtractive head 192 for machining in between the fabrication or printing or building cycles according to various embodiments. Accordingly, the subtractive head 192 may be used multiple times during the entire additive manufacturing process to fabricate the article. Hence, subtractive manufacturing may be interposed between fabrication or printing or building cycles during the entire additive manufacturing process. According to various embodiments, the manipulator 120 may move the insert component 102 relative to the subtractive head 192 in between the fabrication or printing or building cycles. According to various embodiments, the manipulator 120 may move the insert component 102 to present an orientation of the insert component 102 to the subtractive head 192 that is ideal for the subtractive head 192 to access for subtractive machining. According to various embodiments, the system 100 may provide for subtractive machining interposed between additive manufacturing build cycles, and may allow an intermediate workpiece having the insert component 102 embedded therein to be ideally oriented for subtractive machining.

[00098] FIG. 3 shows a schematic diagram of a method 301 of additive manufacturing the article with the insert component 102 embedded therein according to various embodiments. According to various embodiments, the method 301 may correspond to the operation of the system 100 of FIG. 1. According to various embodiments, the method 301 may include, at 303, providing the insert component 102 to serve as the substrate from which the article is built. Accordingly, the insert component 102 may be provided to the manipulator 120 such that the insert component 102 may be held by the manipulator 120. Further, the insert component 102 may function or act as the base onto which the article may be built.

[00099] According to various embodiments, the method 301 may include, at 305, moving, via the manipulator 120, the insert component 102 relative to the deposition head 112 of the additive manufacturing tool 110 in a manner so as to be capable of presenting different orientations of the insert component 102 to the deposition head 112 of the additive manufacturing tool 110 for depositing the materials layer by layer over the insert component 102 to fabricate or print or build the article with the insert component 102 being embedded as an integral part of the article. According to various embodiments, moving the insert component 102 relative to the deposition head 112 of the additive manufacturing tool 110 may include one or both of positioning and orienting the insert component 102 relative to the deposition head 112 of the additive manufacturing tool 110. Accordingly, positioning the insert component 102 may include translating or linearly moving the insert component 102, and orienting the insert component 102 may include rotating the insert component 102. [000100] FIG. 4 shows further details of the method 301 of additive manufacturing the article with the insert component 102 embedded therein according to various embodiments. As shown in FIG. 4, providing the insert component 102 to serve as the substrate from which the article is built (at 303) may be part of the setting up procedure. As shown in FIG. 4, moving the insert component 102 relative to the deposition head 112 of the additive manufacturing tool 110 to presenting different orientations of the insert component 102 to the deposition head 112 of the additive manufacturing tool 110 (at 305) may be for setting the orientation of the insert component under the build cycle.

[000101] According to various embodiments, in order to begin build at 307 under the build cycle, the method 301 may include analysing, via the processing unit 130, the model of the article to segment the model of the article into different segmented parts to be built in sequence from the insert component 102 with the different segmented parts respectively associated with the different orientations of the insert component 102 for presenting to the deposition head 112 of the additive manufacturing tool 110 by the manipulator 120 and to slice each of the different segmented parts into layers for additive manufacturing by the additive manufacturing tool 110. Accordingly, the method 301 may break down the model of the article into the segmented parts that is to be built and in which orientation of the insert component 102 each segmented part is to be built. Further, the method 301 may break down each segmented part into the individual layers to be built.

[000102] According to various embodiments, the method 301 may include determining, via the processing unit 130, the placement path for moving the insert component 102 relative to the deposition head 112 of the additive manufacturing tool 110 so as to present the corresponding orientation of the insert component 102 to the deposition head 112 of the additive manufacturing tool 110 for building or printing or fabricating the corresponding segmented part. Accordingly, the method 301 may provide the placement path for moving or guiding the insert component 102 to set the corresponding orientation of the insert component 102 to build or print or fabricate the corresponding segmented part. According to various embodiments, moving the insert component 102 relative to the deposition head 112 of the additive manufacturing tool 110 to presenting different orientations of the insert component 102 to the deposition head 112 of the additive manufacturing tool 110 (at 305) may be based on the placement path.

[000103] According to various embodiments, the method 301 may include determining a building path for moving the insert component 102 and the deposition head 112 of the additive manufacturing tool 110 relative to each other so as to build or print or fabricate the corresponding segmented part when the corresponding orientation of the insert component 102 is presented to the deposition head 112 of the additive manufacturing tool 110. Accordingly, the method 301 may provide the building path to deposit the materials layer by layer via moving the insert component 102 and the deposition head 112 of the additive manufacturing tool 110 relative to each other. For example, the deposition head 112 of the additive manufacturing tool 110 may be stationary and the insert component 102 may be moved by the manipulator 120. As another example, the insert component 102 may be held stationary by the manipulator 120 and the deposition head 112 of the additive manufacturing tool 110 may be moved. According to various embodiments, depositing the materials layers at 309 may be based on the building path.

[000104] According to various embodiments, for feedback and monitoring, the method 301 may include, at 311, obtaining via the sensing arrangement 140 measurements of the article built. According to various embodiments, the inspection sensing sub-arrangement 142 of the sensing arrangement 140 may measure whether deposition is competed as well as the orientation of the insert component 102. According to various embodiments, the method 301 may further include, at 313, calculating, via the processing unit 130, the surface position based on the model of the article (e.g. the CAD model), the orientation of the insert component 102 and the last deposition. According to various embodiments, the method may include, at 315, comparing, via the processing unit 130, the measurements against the model of the article to determine the difference. According to various embodiments, when the difference is within the acceptable threshold, the build cycle may be determined to be completed and the article built (or the print) may be considered acceptable. According to various embodiments, when the difference is outside or larger than the acceptable threshold, the build cycle may be determined to be incomplete and a corrective action may be generated, at 317, based on the difference. According to various embodiments, generating the corrective action may be by analysing, via the processing unit 130, using artificial intelligence and machine learning of the reasons for any errors. The corrective action may then be identified and/or generated. According to various embodiments, the method may include, at 319, updating instructions (e.g. print file) with corrective adjustments or corrective action to rectify the article built (or the print) so as to ensure that the article built (or the print) is accurate.

[000105] According to various embodiments, with the feedback and monitoring, the method 301 may return to the build cycle. According to various embodiments, the method 301 may include moving, via the manipulator 120, the insert component 102 relative to the deposition head 112 of the additive manufacturing tool 110 to present a pre-determined orientation of the insert component 102 to the deposition head 112 of the additive manufacturing tool 110 for the corrective action. Accordingly, the method 301 may generate the corrective placement path for moving the insert component 102 to present the pre- determined orientation of the insert component 102 to the deposition head 112 of the additive manufacturing tool 110 for the corrective action to rectify the segmented part of the article built that requires rectification. Hence, the updating of instructions at 319 may include instructions to the manipulator 120 based on the corrective placement path to move the insert component 102 for rectifying the article built. Further, according to various embodiments, the method 301 may include moving the insert component 102 and the deposition head 112 of the additive manufacturing tool 110 relative to each other based on the corrective action for rectifying the article built. Accordingly, the method 301 may generate the corrective building path for moving the insert component 102 relative to the deposition head 112 of the additive manufacturing tool 110 when the pre -determined orientation of the insert component 102 is presented to the deposition head 112 of the additive manufacturing tool 110 for the corrective action.

[000106] According to various embodiments, when the method 301 returns to the build cycle based on the feedback and monitoring for the corrective action, the method 301 may include moving, via the manipulator 120, the insert component 102 relative to the subtractive head 192 of the subtractive manufacturing tool 190 to present a pre-determined subtractive orientation of the insert component 102 to the subtractive head 192 of the subtractive manufacturing tool 190 for the corrective action. Accordingly, the method 301 may generate the subtractive placement path for moving the insert component 102 to present the pre-determined subtractive orientation of the insert component 102 to the subtractive head 192 of the subtractive manufacturing tool 190 for the corrective action to rectify the segmented part of the article built that requires rectification. Hence, the updating of instructions at 319 may include instructions to the manipulator 120 based on the subtractive placement path to move the insert component 102 for rectifying the article built. Further, according to various embodiments, the method 301 may include moving the insert component 102 and the subtractive head 192 of the subtractive manufacturing tool 190 relative to each other based on the corrective action for rectifying the article built. Accordingly, the method 301 may generate the corrective subtractive path for moving the insert component 102 relative to the subtractive head 192 of the subtractive manufacturing tool 190 when the pre-determined subtractive orientation of the insert component 102 is presented to the subtractive head 192 of the subtractive manufacturing tool 110 for the corrective action. [000107] According to various embodiments, the method 301, at 315, may upon determining that the fabrication or printing or building of the article is complete, proceed to stop the building process at 321. Subsequently, the method 301 may proceed to upload into the storage medium 160, e.g. a cloud storage, data and information relating to the build cycle as well as feedback and monitoring of the method 301.

[000108] According to various embodiments, the setting up procedure for the method 301 may include, at 325, fabricating or printing or building the insert component 102 with the same material as that for fabricating or printing or building the article. According to various embodiments, the method 301 may subsequently include, at 327, inserting the electronic identification unit (or the microchip or the RFID) into the insert component 102. Further, with the insert component 102 provided to the manipulator 120 at 303, the method 301 may further include setting the initial position and/or orientation of the insert component 102. When the setting up procedure is completed, the method 301 may include uploading information and data relating to the setting up procedure to the storage medium 160. [000109] FIG. 5 shows further details of the method 301, in particular, the procedure for develop the insert component 102 prior to fabricating or printing or building the insert component 102 at 325 according to various embodiments. According to various embodiments, for developing the insert component 102, the method 301 may include, at 333, decide on an initial insert component 102 and provide the CAD model of the initial insert component 102 to the processing unit 130. According to various embodiments, the method 301 may include, at 335, investigating the insert component library for similar design via the processing unit 130. The method 301 may retrieve the insert component library from the storage medium 160 and determine if there are similar design in the insert component library. When it is determined that there are similar design for the insert component 102, the insert component 102 in the insert component library may be adopted at 337. Subsequently, at 339, the model of the adopted insert component 102 may be inserted into the model (e.g. CAD model) of the article. With the model of the model of the adopted insert component 102 inserted into the model of the article, the method 301 may determine whether there is any impact on the article design and mechanical performance at 341. When no impact is determined at 341, the method 301 may determine if the adopted insert component 102 may allow the required build strategy to be performed at 343. When it is determined at 343 that the required build strategy may be performed, the model of the adopted insert component 102 may be confirmed at 345 for fabrication or printing or building the insert component 102 at 325 (see FIG. 4).

[000110] Referring to FIG. 5, according to various embodiments, when it is determined at 341 that there may be impact on the article design and mechanical performance or when it is determined at 343 that the required build strategy may not be performed, the method 301 may determine that a new insert component 102 may need to be develop and proceed to 345. Accordingly, the method 301 may determine, based on the model of the article, whether to generate the new insert component at 341, 343.

[000111] According to various embodiments, when it is determined at 335 that no similar design for the insert component 102 may be found in the insert component library, the method 301 may also determine that a new insert component 102 may need to be develop and proceed to 345. According to various embodiments, in developing the new insert component 102 at 345, the method 301 may generate the new insert component 102 based on the fit requirement at 347, the build requirement at 349 and the grip requirement at 351. The fit requirement at 347 may be whether the new insert component 102 may be fitted into the model of the article (or part design). The build requirement at 349 may be whether the new insert component 102 allow the article to be build. The grip requirement at 351 may be whether the insert component 102 may be suitable to be moved by the manipulator 120 (or controlled by the robot arm). According to various embodiments, the method 301 may simultaneously consider the fit requirement at 347, the build requirement at 349 and the grip requirement at 351 when generating the new insert component 102. According to various embodiments generating the new insert component 102 may include generating the new geometry for the insert component 102. According to various embodiments, upon completion of the generation of the new insert component 102, the model of the new insert component 102 may be confirmed at 345 for fabrication or printing or building the insert component 102 at 325 (see FIG. 4).

[000112] FIG. 6 shows a schematic flow diagram of a method 601 of accessing the stored data with the insert component 102 according to various embodiments. According to various embodiments, the method 601 may be for utilising the insert component 102 after the article (or the part) is completed and when the article is in use during subsequent applications so as to retrieve previously stored data. According to various embodiments, the method 601 may also be used during additive manufacturing according to method 301 for accessing the storage medium 160 to store new data or to retrieve previously stored data. According to various embodiments, the method 601 may be applicable when the insert component 102 includes the electronic identification unit 150. According to various embodiments, the method 601 may include, at 603, scanning the article or the insert component 102 within a working distance with a scanner. According to various embodiments, the method 601 may include, at 605, obtaining the identification code (or unique code) from the insert component 102 from the scanning in 603. According to various embodiments, upon obtaining the identification code, the method 601 may include, at 607, automatically checking the identification code obtained against a database for all the articles (or parts) fabricated or printed or built. According to various embodiments, upon matching the identification code to an article (or a part), the method 601 may include, at 609, verifying the authenticity of the identification code. According to various embodiments, upon verifying the authenticity, the method may include, at 611, checking the credential of the user to confirm whether the user has permission to access the stored data relating to the article (or the part) in the storage medium 160, e.g. a cloud content management system. According to various embodiments, when it is determined that the user has permission to access at 611, the method may include, at 613, using the identification code to activate secure uplink to the storage medium 160. According to various embodiments, after establishing uplink, the method may include, at 615, downloading or viewing stored data relating to the article (or the part). On the other hand, according to various embodiments, when it is determined that the user do not have permission to access at 611, the method may include, at 617, terminating the attempt to access the stored data by not activating any secure uplink to the storage medium 160. [000113] According to various embodiments, the stored data may include a range of information about the additive manufacturing (or build) process which may be collected during additive manufacturing. According to various embodiments, the range of information may change and may depends on development of technology as well as customers’ specific request. According to various embodiments, the range of information may include, but not limited to, the following: build material; material source and any production certificates; material testing, results, certificates and associated data; qualification tests, certificates and data; pre-production and production tests, certificates and associated data; CAD files, finite element analysis (FEA) results, simulation results and other digital and mechanical testing; any other material testing; any equipment testing related to the build; printer testing including but not limited to preventative maintenances tests, pre build tests; printer parameters during the build process, including but not limited to, melt pool temperature, powder flow rate, carry and shield gas flow rate and pressure, nozzle positioning, part cooling rate, chiller temperature, printer environment details; quality control (QC) reports; dimensional check testing and reports; certification results and reports; external testing and reports; any external certification.

[000114] According to various embodiments, additional data after the article is put into use (or since the article has entered use) may also be stored and retrieved. The additional data may include, but not limited to, the following: route travelled; usage; unit price and cost; service history; current location; part function; acceleration / rotation per minute (RPM).

[000115] According to various embodiments, the data may be stored on a secure content management system either in the storage medium 160 such as a local servers and/or a cloud storage system.

[000116] According to various embodiments, different groups of the data collected and stored may be made available to different user (for example different organisations and/or companies) post-manufacture or during usage of the article. These different users may include, but are not limited to, part owner, testing laboratories, classification organisations, regulatory bodies, owners of intellectual property in the part, relevant sub -contractors. An approved organisation may gain access to this data via the insert component 102 via the method 601 according to various embodiments. According to various embodiments, the user may use a reader/scanner to detect a signal from the electronic identification unit (or microchip or RFID) embedded into insert component 102. Using this signal, a code may be generated for the authorised user. The code may be used for connecting to a content management system either on a local server or on a cloud server and make available to that user the information about the part that they are authorised to have access to.

[000117] FIG. 7A shows a cutaway view of an insert component 702, as an example of the insert component 102 of the various embodiments, according to various embodiments. FIG. 7B shows an exploded view of the insert component 702 of FIG. 7A according to various embodiments. As described previously, the insert component 702 may serve as the substrate for additive manufacturing according to various embodiments. According to various embodiments, the insert component 702 may include the electronic identification unit 150. According to various embodiments, as shown, the insert component 702 may include an inner shell 770 enclosing the electronic identification unit 150. According to various embodiments, the inner shell 770 may include a first half shell 772 and a second half shell 774. The first half shell 772 and the second half shell 774 may be joined or coupled together so as to define a cavity inside the complete inner shell 770 for accommodating the electronic identification unit 150. Accordingly, the electronic identification unit 150 may be encased or enclosed by the inner shell 770 when first half shell 772 and the second half shell 774 are joined or coupled together. According to various embodiments, the inner shell 770 may be made of thermal insulation material.

[000118] According to various embodiments, the insert component 702 may include an outer casing 780 encapsulating the inner shell 770. According to various embodiments, the outer casing 780 may include a first half casing 782 and a second half casing 784. The first half casing 782 may cover over half of the inner shell 770 and the second half casing 784 may cover over another half of the inner shell 770 such that the outer casing 780 as a whole may fully encapsulate the inner shell 770. Accordingly, the outer casing 780 may fully cover or enclose the inner shell 770 on all sides. Hence, the outer casing 780 may form the exterior of the insert component 702. According to various embodiments, the inner shell 770 and the outer casing 780 may form a double layer encapsulation for the electronic identification unit 150.

[000119] According to various embodiments, the outer casing 780 may be made of a same material as that to be used in the additive manufacturing process when the insert component 702 is to be used as the substrate. Accordingly, when the article is fabricated or printed or built onto and/or over the insert component 702, the materials deposited during additive manufacturing process may integrally bond with the outer casing 780 such that the article may be formed with the insert component 702 integrally embedded therein by the additive manufacturing process. According to various embodiments, the material of the outer casing 780 and the materials deposited during additive manufacturing may include, but not limited to, polymers, ceramics and metals.

[000120] According to various embodiments, the insert component 702 may serve as the substrate for a metal additive manufacturing process. Accordingly, the outer casing 780 may be an outer metal casing. According to various embodiments, the outer metal casing may be made of a same metal material as that to be used in the metal additive manufacturing process. Accordingly, a metal article may be built with the insert component 702 integrally embedded within the metal article by the metal additive manufacturing process.

[000121] FIG. 8 shows a schematic cross-section of an example article 804 fabricated or printed or built by the system 100 and method 301 of the various embodiments. According to various embodiments, the article 804 may include an article body 806 and the insert component 702. According to various embodiments, the insert component 702 may be embedded in the article body 806. According to various embodiments, the insert component 702 may include the electronic identification unit 150, the inner shell 770 enclosing the electronic identification unit 150 and the outer casing 780 encapsulating the inner shell 770. Accordingly, the inner shell 770 and the outer casing 780 may form a double encapsulation over the electronic identification unit 150. According to various embodiments, the outer casing 780 of the insert component 702 may be made of a same material as that of the article body 806. According to various embodiments, the article body 806 may be integrally printed over the outer casing 780 of the insert component 702, via the system 100 and method 301 of the various embodiments, such that the insert component 702 may be integrally embedded within the article body 806 as an integral part of the article 804.

[000122] According to various embodiments, an overall dimension of the insert component 702 may be smaller than an overall dimension of the article 804. Accordingly, the insert component 702 may be embedded within the article 804. According to various embodiments, the overall dimension may include length, width and thickness. Accordingly, each of the length, the width and the thickness of the insert component 702 may be respectively smaller than each of the length, the width and the thickness of the article 804. [000123] According to various embodiments, when the article 804 to be fabricated or printed or built by the system 100 and method 301 of the various embodiments is a metal article, the article body 806 may be a metal body and the outer casing 780 of the insert component 702 may be the outer metal casing. According to various embodiments, the outer metal casing of the insert component 702 may be made of a same metal material as that of the metal body. According to various embodiments, the metal body may be integrally printed over the outer metal casing of the insert component such that the insert component 702 may be integrally embedded within the metal body as an integral part of the metal article. [000124] In the following, experimental data and results for demonstrating that the insert component 702 may be used for positioning as well as identification purposes are presented. [000125] FIG. 9 shows an experimental set up for demonstrating that the insert component 102 of the various embodiments may be used for positioning as well as identification purposes. In the experimental set up, an experimental insert component 902 (as an example of the insert component 102 of the various embodiments) was inserted into a metal part 904 (as an example of a finished article fabricated or printed or built by the system 100 and method 301 of the various embodiments, which can be of various form and shapes including, but not limited to, valve bodies, pump parts, impellers etc.), and an outer region 908 of the metal part 904 were welded such that the experimental insert component 902 was locked inside the metal part 904. The experimental insert component 902 includes a metal capsule enclosing an internal shell which in turn encloses an electronic chip. The internal shell was primarily configured to withstand high temperatures.

[000126] In the various experiments conducted, the electronic chip was activated by Bluetooth and was monitored through an application from a smartphone. A series of trials were conducted by placing the smartphone at various distances from the metal part 904 to check its traceability. Table 1 below represents the range of connectivity generated due to coverage areas.

[000127] Table 1: Connectivity range at different coverage areas

[000128] FIG. 10 shows a graphical representation of the connectivity vs coverage area. The graph depicts the drop-in connectivity when the coverage area increases.

[000129] According to various embodiments, the electronic chip may be integrated with a sensor to communicate with a GPS system and acts as a tracking device. According to various embodiments, the electronic chip may include a power source, for example a battery. According to various embodiments, the power source may be configured to have a lifespan of one or more years. According to various embodiments, the electronic chip may be configured to be constantly monitored with an application in the smartphone.

[000130] Various embodiments have provided an effective and versatile solution for additive manufacturing to fabricate or print or build complex articles or parts in a cost effective manner, for example, without requiring post removal of support structures, without requiring post removal of substrate, and/or without separate post machining. Various embodiments have provided a system and a method for additive manufacturing of complex articles or parts by moving the substrate such that deposition of materials may be performed in different orientation of the substrate and with the substrate being integrally embedded as part of the finished article or part.

[000131] While the invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to specific embodiments, it should be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes, modification, variation in form and detail may be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. The scope of the invention is thus indicated by the appended claims and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced.