Material-fall three-dimensional printing
US-2018133956-A1 · May 17, 2018 · US
Laminar vertical powder flow for additive manufacturing
US10675683B2 · US · B2
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Publication number | US-10675683-B2 |
| Application number | US-201615059105-A |
| Country | US |
| Kind code | B2 |
| Filing date | Mar 2, 2016 |
| Priority date | Mar 2, 2016 |
| Publication date | Jun 9, 2020 |
| Grant date | Jun 9, 2020 |
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- Title
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- Abstract
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Abstract
Official abstract text for this publication.
A method and apparatus for additive manufacturing is provided whereby a curtain of powder is provided adjacent a vertically oriented build plate, and a laser melts or sinters the powder over a region of the build plate. The curtain of powder is moved relative to the build plate to maintain the same distance between the curtain and the previously deposited layer, and the process repeated to provide a three dimensional structure on the build plate.
First claim
Opening claim text (preview).
What is claimed is: 1. An apparatus for manufacturing a three dimensional component, the apparatus comprising: a) a vertically oriented build plate; b) a powder feed mechanism adapted to provide a powder curtain adjacent the build plate, wherein a relative spacing between the powder curtain and the build plate is adjustable; c) a focused energy beam adapted to sinter or melt powder from the powder curtain onto the build plate; and d) a controller adapted to scan the focused energy beam over a region of the build plate. 2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the powder is a metallic alloy, polymer, or ceramic powder. 3. The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a receptacle adapted to collect unused powder. 4. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the powder feed mechanism is a hopper. 5. The apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the hopper comprises a linear opening whose length defines a curtain length. 6. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the focused energy beam is a laser. 7. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the relative spacing is provided by the build plate being movable relative to the powder feed mechanism. 8. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the relative spacing is provided by the powder feed mechanism being movable relative to the build plate. 9. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the relative spacing is controlled by the controller. 10. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the controller is a computerized controller.
Assignees
Inventors
Classifications
Platforms or substrates (support structures intended to be sacrificed after manufacture B29C64/40) · CPC title
Operations & Transport · mapped topic
- C04B35/62204Primary
using waste materials or refuse (clay-wares containing waste materials C04B33/132) · CPC title
Processes of additive manufacturing · CPC title
Rapid manufacturing of 3D objects by additive depositing, agglomerating or laminating of material (selective deposition modelling of metallic powder B22F10/00; rapid manufacturing of 3D objects in general and in particular of plastics B29C64/00) · CPC title
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- What does patent US10675683B2 cover?
- A method and apparatus for additive manufacturing is provided whereby a curtain of powder is provided adjacent a vertically oriented build plate, and a laser melts or sinters the powder over a region of the build plate. The curtain of powder is moved relative to the build plate to maintain the same distance between the curtain and the previously deposited layer, and the process repeated to prov…
- Who is the assignee on this patent?
- Gen Electric
- What technology area does this patent fall under?
- Primary CPC classification C04B35/62204. Mapped technology areas include Chemistry & Metallurgy.
- When was this patent published?
- Publication date Tue Jun 09 2020 00:00:00 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time) (B2). Legal status and post-grant events are not shown on this page.
- What related patents are in patentsdb?
- We list 4 related publications on this page (citations in our corpus or others sharing the same primary CPC).