3-D Printed Packaging

Abstract

Items may be packaged for shipping or storage using additive manufacturing techniques, also known as three dimensional (3-D) printing. Packages made by such processes may be referred to as 3-D printed packages and may include packing material printed at least partially around the item(s) and/or an outer cover printed about at least a portion of an exterior of the packing material and/or the item(s). A packaging system may include a 3-D printer and a computing device communicatively coupled to the 3-D printer. The computing device may obtain a packaging model describing a package for one or more items. A print module of the computing device may include instructions to print the package at least partially about the item(s) according to the packaging model.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A system comprising:
 a three dimensional (3-D) printer; and   a computing device communicatively coupled to the 3-D printer, the computing device comprising one or more processors and memory, the memory storing:
 a packaging model describing a package for an item; and 
 a print module including instructions executable by the one or more processors to cause the 3-D printer to print the package at least partially about the item according to the packaging model. 
   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a scanner,   wherein the memory of the computing device further includes:
 a scanner module including instructions executable by the one or more processors to scan the item to determined one or more characteristics of the item; and 
 a modeling module including instructions executable by the one or more processors to obtain the packaging model based at least in part on the one or more characteristics of the item. 
   
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein the scanner comprises at least one of a 3-D optical scanner, a 3-D laser scanner, or a camera to determine the one or more characteristics about the item. 
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein the one or more characteristics about the item comprise at least one of visual appearance, or outer dimensions. 
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein the scanner comprises at least one of an ultrasound scanner, an x-ray scanner, a spectrometer, or a scale. 
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein the one or more characteristics about the item comprise at least one of a material from which the item is made, a weight of the item, a volume of the item, or a density of the item. 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 1 , further comprising logic stored in the memory of the computing device, the logic to recognize the item based on at least one of a computer model of the item, user input identifying a model of the item, optical recognition of the item, or an item identifier of the item. 
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 1 , further comprising a manipulator communicatively coupled to the computing device to manipulate the item relative to the 3-D printer. 
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 8 , wherein the manipulator comprises at least one of a robotic arm, a conveyor belt, or one or more rollers. 
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the system comprises a self service 3-D printed packaging system. 
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the system comprises part of a fulfillment center of an ecommerce merchant. 
     
     
         12 . A system comprising:
 a three dimensional (3-D) printer;   a scanner; and   a computing device communicatively coupled to the 3-D printer and to the scanner, the computing device comprising one or more processors and memory, the memory storing instructions that, when executed:
 cause the scanner to scan an item; 
 obtain a packaging model describing a package for the item; and 
 cause the 3-D printer to print the package for the item based at least in part on the packaging model. 
   
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein the packaging model describes the package as including:
 packing material around the item; and   an outer cover about an exterior of the packing material.   
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein the packaging model describes that the packing material comprises at least one of a lattice structure, a honeycomb structure, a truss structure, a bubble structure, a web structure, or one or more support ribs; and 
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein the packaging model describes 3-D text to printed on the package. 
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein the scanner comprises at least one of a 3-D optical scanner, a 3-D laser scanner, a camera, an ultrasound scanner, an x-ray scanner, a spectrometer, or a scale. 
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 12 , further comprising a manipulator communicatively coupled to the computing device to manipulate the item relative to the 3-D printer, wherein the manipulator comprises at least one of a robotic arm, a conveyor belt, or one or more rollers. 
     
     
         18 . A system comprising:
 one or more processors; and   memory communicatively coupled to the one or more processors, the memory storing instructions that, when executed configure the system to perform operations comprising:
 obtaining information about an item to be packaged; 
 obtaining a packaging model describing a package for the item; and 
 outputting instructions to a 3-D printer to print the package for the item based at least in part on the packaging model. 
   
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 18 , wherein obtaining the information about the item to be packed comprises at least one of:
 scanning the item to determine one or more characteristics of the item;   recognizing the item based on object recognition;   recognizing the item based on a product identifier; or   receiving user input describing the item.   
     
     
         20 . The system of  claim 18 , wherein obtaining the packaging model comprises at least one of:
 generating the packaging model based at least in part on the information about the item to be packaged;   retrieving the packaging model from a resource via a network connection.