Additive manufacturing machine with movable, controlled powder dispensing

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11969791-B2
Application number	US-201917285735-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 14, 2019
Priority date	Oct 16, 2018
Publication date	Apr 30, 2024
Grant date	Apr 30, 2024

Abstract

An additive manufacturing machine ( 10 ) comprises a working plane ( 18 ) comprising a working zone ( 20 ) allowing an overlay of different layers of powder to be received, and a powder dispensing device ( 32 ) comprising a powder intake ( 36 ) allowing powder to be delivered on top of the working plane. The powder dispensing device ( 32 ) comprises a tank ( 44 ) of powder mounted to move above the working plane ( 18 ) and that can be displaced to under the powder intake ( 36 ), the bottom part ( 45 ) of the tank ( 44 ) comprises a powder dispensing point (P 1 ), and the powder dispensing device ( 32 ) comprises a control device ( 48 ) controlling the flow of powder via the powder dispensing point during a displacement of the tank. The tank ( 44 ) is mounted on a weighing sensor ( 68 ).

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A powder bed deposition additive manufacturing machine comprising:
a manufacturing enclosure comprising a working plane comprising a working zone, the working zone defined by a manufacturing sleeve extending vertically under the working plane and a manufacturing plate sliding vertically inside the manufacturing sleeve, allowing an overlay of different powder layers to be received;
a main powder tank positioned outside the manufacturing enclosure;
a powder dispensing device positioned inside the manufacturing enclosure;
a powder spreading device positioned inside the manufacturing enclosure; and
a beam emitted by a source and making it possible to selectively fuse a layer of additive manufacturing powder spread over the working zone,
wherein the powder dispensing device comprises
a powder intake extending from the main powder tank into the manufacturing enclosure allowing powder to be delivered on top of the working plane,
a mobile powder tank that is movably mounted above the working plane and that can be displaced to under the powder intake so as to be filled with powder, a bottom part of the mobile powder tank comprising a powder dispensing point,
wherein a top part of the mobile powder tank comprises a supply aperture allowing the mobile powder tank to be supplied with powder from the powder intake, the top part of the mobile powder tank comprises a lateral wall, and the supply aperture is provided in the lateral wall, and

a control device controlling the flow of powder via the powder dispensing point during a displacement of the mobile powder tank,

wherein the mobile powder tank is mounted on a weighing sensor, and
wherein the powder spreading device is in a form of a scraper or a roller mounted on a carriage, and
wherein the carriage is mounted to move in a longitudinal direction, and the mobile powder tank is mounted to move by translation in a transverse direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction along the carriage of the powder spreading device.

2. The powder bed deposition additive manufacturing machine according to claim 1 , wherein the weighing sensor is a strain measurement gauge weighing sensor.

3. The powder bed deposition additive manufacturing machine according to claim 1 , wherein a nozzle comprising the powder dispensing point is removably mounted under the bottom part of the mobile powder tank, and comprises an aperture forming the powder dispensing point, the aperture being situated at the lowest end of the nozzle.

4. The powder bed deposition additive manufacturing machine according to claim 3 , wherein the nozzle has a hollow internal section, and the hollow internal section reduces progressively toward the powder dispensing point.

5. The powder bed deposition additive manufacturing machine according to claim 1 , wherein the control device comprises a vibrator fixed to the mobile powder tank.

6. The powder bed deposition additive manufacturing machine according to claim 1 , wherein the control device comprises a movable shutter, the shutter making it possible to prevent the powder from flowing through the powder dispensing point when the shutter is in a closed position, and the shutter allowing the powder to flow through the powder dispensing point when the shutter is in an open position, and
wherein the shutter is in a form of a flap valve mounted at an end of a rod mounted to move by translation inside the mobile powder tank.

7. The powder bed deposition additive manufacturing machine according to claim 6 , wherein, when the shutter is in the open position, the flap valve is in a high position and not in contact with the bottom part of the mobile powder tank, and
wherein, when the shutter is in the closed position, the flap valve is in a low position and is in contact with the bottom part of the mobile powder tank.

8. The powder bed deposition additive manufacturing machine according to claim 1 , wherein the mobile powder tank can be displaced in translation on a front face and on a rear face of the carriage.

9. The powder bed deposition additive manufacturing machine according to claim 1 , wherein the powder dispensing device comprises a contactless measurement device for measuring a profile of the powder deposited on the working plane or on the working zone.

10. The powder bed deposition additive manufacturing machine according to claim 1 , wherein the powder dispensing device comprises several powder intakes.

11. The powder bed deposition additive manufacturing machine according to claim 1 , wherein the powder dispensing device comprises several mobile powder tanks that are movably mounted above the working plane and that can be displaced to under the powder intake so as to be filled with powder.

12. An additive manufacturing method implemented by the powder bed deposition additive manufacturing machine according to claim 1 , the method comprising the step:
servocontrolling displacement of the mobile powder tank using measurements performed by the weighing sensor.

13. The additive manufacturing method according to claim 12 , wherein a speed of displacement of the mobile powder tank is servocontrolled using the measurements performed by the weighing sensor.

14. The additive manufacturing method according to claim 12 , wherein operation of the control device is servocontrolled using the measurements performed by the weighing sensor.

Assignees

• Addup

Inventors

• Effernelli Albin
• Carlavan Cedric

Classifications

• B22F12/41 Primary

  characterised by the type, e.g. laser or electron beam · CPC title

• B22F10/28 Primary

  Powder bed fusion, e.g. selective laser melting [SLM] or electron beam melting [EBM] · CPC title

• B22F10/30

  Process control · CPC title

• B22F12/52

  Hoppers · CPC title

• B22F12/53

  Nozzles · CPC title