# US 11,440,260 B2 · 3D printer fresh and recycled powder supply management > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 11,440,260 B2 - Document ID: US11440260B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 16/098,098 - Filed: 2016-07-19 - Published: 2019-05-16 - Granted: 2022-09-13 - Earliest claimed: 2016-07-19 - Assignees: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. - Applicants: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. - Inventors: Sunil Kothari; Wesley R. Schalk; Jun Zeng; Francisco Oblea; Gary Dispoto - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11440260B2 ## CPC - B29C 64/357: Recycling - B22F 10/73: of powder - B22F 10/85: for controlling or regulating additive manufacturing processes - B22F 12/55: Two or more means for feeding material - B29C 64/153: using layers of powder being selectively joined, e.g. by selective laser sintering or melting - B33Y 40/00: Auxiliary operations or equipment, e.g. for material handling - G06F 30/20: Design optimisation, verification or simulation (optimisation, verification or simulation of circuit designs G06F30/30) - B22F 10/28: Powder bed fusion, e.g. selective laser melting [SLM] or electron beam melting [EBM] - B29C: SHAPING OR JOINING OF PLASTICS; SHAPING OF MATERIAL IN A PLASTIC STATE, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; AFTER-TREATMENT OF THE SHAPED PRODUCTS, e.g. REPAIRING (making preforms B29B11/00; making laminated products by combining previously unconnected layers which become one product whose layers will remain together B32B37/00 - B32B41/00) - B22F: WORKING METALLIC POWDER; MANUFACTURE OF ARTICLES FROM METALLIC POWDER; MAKING METALLIC POWDER (making alloys by powder metallurgy C22C); APPARATUS OR DEVICES SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR METALLIC POWDER - B33Y: ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING, i.e. MANUFACTURING OF THREE-DIMENSIONAL [3D] OBJECTS BY ADDITIVE DEPOSITION, ADDITIVE AGGLOMERATION OR ADDITIVE LAYERING, e.g. BY 3D PRINTING, STEREOLITHOGRAPHY OR SELECTIVE LASER SINTERING - G06F: ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING (computer systems based on specific computational models G06N) ## Abstract Examples disclosed herein relate to 3D printer fresh and recycled powder supply management. In one implementation, a processor estimates fresh and recycled powder use and recycled powder creation by a 3D printer based on a set of print jobs. The processor may coordinate fresh and recycled powder resources based on the powder estimate and stored information about powder resources. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A computing system, comprising: a storage to store information about powder resources including: a primary supply fresh powder amount, a primary supply recycled powder amount, a secondary fresh powder supply amount, and a secondary recycled powder supply amount; a 3D printer; and a processor to: estimate fresh and recycled powder use and recycled powder creation by the 3D printer for an incoming set of print jobs based on a set of past print jobs; and manage fresh and recycled powder resources between a primary and secondary powder supply based on the powder estimate and the stored information about powder resources; wherein the processor is further programmed to update an order of the set of print jobs to alter an amount of powder to be retrieved from the secondary powder supply. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The computing system of claim 1, further comprising a second 3D printer and wherein the processor is further to manage fresh and recycled powder from the secondary powder supply between the 3D printer and the second 3D printer. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The computing system of claim 1, wherein managing fresh powder resources comprises: determining, based on the stored information, if the estimated amount of fresh powder is available in the primary fresh powder supply; and if not available, determining at least one of: an amount of fresh powder supply to retrieve and a secondary fresh powder supply source to meet the estimated amount of fresh powder. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The computing system of claim 1, wherein the processor is further to update the stored powder resource information to reduce the fresh powder supply amount and recycled powder supply amount based on use and to increase the recycled powder supply amount based on recycled powder creation from fresh powder use. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The computing system of claim 1, further comprising updating a ratio of fresh to recycled powder of a print job in the set of print jobs based on the estimate. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The computing system of claim 1, wherein estimating at least one of the fresh and recycled powder use and recycled powder creation is based on a simulation using data from past print jobs. ### Claim 7 A method, comprising: determining, by a processor, an amount of fresh powder and recycled powder to be used for a 3D print job; estimating fresh powder and recycled powder use and recycled powder creation a 3D printer available for an incoming set of print jobs based on past print jobs; managing fresh and recycled powder resources between a primary and secondary powder supply based on the estimate of powder use and stored information related to the powder resources; and updating an order of the set of print jobs to alter an amount of powder to be retrieved from the secondary powder supply. ### Claim 8 (depends on 7) The method of claim 7, further comprising determining an amount of available recycled powder remaining after a print job scheduled prior to the 3D print job. ### Claim 9 (depends on 7) The method of claim 7, further comprising determining an amount of at least one of recycled and fresh powder to move to a 3D printer from a secondary powder source based on the estimate compared to the determined amount. ### Claim 10 (depends on 7) The method of claim 7, wherein the amount of fresh powder and recycled powder to be used for the 3D print job is determined based on previous print jobs and associated amounts of powder use. ### Claim 11 (depends on 7) The method of claim 7, further comprising rescheduling at least one of the print job and a print job scheduled prior to the print job to change the amount of at least one of fresh and recycled powder available at the time of executing the rescheduled print job. ### Claim 12 A machine-readable non-transitory storage medium comprising instructions executable by a processor to: estimate fresh and recycled powder use and recycled powder creation by the 3D printer for an incoming set of print jobs based on a set of past print jobs; manage fresh and recycled powder resources between a primary and secondary powder supply based on the powder estimate and the stored information about powder resources; and update an order of the set of print jobs to alter an amount of powder to be retrieved from the secondary powder supply. ### Claim 13 (depends on 12) The machine-readable non-transitory storage medium of claim 12, further comprising instructions to determine an amount of powder to transfer from a secondary to a primary source based on the estimate.