METHOD AND DEVICE FOR CONVEYING PARTICULATE MATERIAL DURING THE LAYER-WISE PRODUCTION OF PATTERNS

摘要

The present invention relates to apparatus, devices and methods for conveying particulate material during the manufacture of patterns in layers, wherein powder is conveyed out of a reservoir into a spreader unit and, if applicable, excess powder fed to the spreader unit is again conveyed back into the reservoir and wherein this conveying takes place in a closed conveying circuit.

主权项

1. An apparatus for the manufacture of a three dimensional object in layers comprising
i) a device for conveying a particulate material during the manufacture of the object in layers, wherein the devise comprises
a) a reservoir,b) a spreader unit, andc) a plurality of particulate material conveying systems including a first particulate material conveying system and a second particulate material conveying system; and ii) a build platform on which the object is built; wherein the first particulate material conveying system conveys the particulate material from the reservoir to the spreader; the spreader is adapted for spreading the particulate material onto the build platform; and the second particulate material conveying system conveys excess particulate material that was fed to the spreader back to the reservoir; so that at least the reservoir and the spreader unit are contained in a closed conveying circuit.