Powder bed fusion recoater assembly

A recoater assembly for an additive manufacturing (AM) machine comprising:

• a recoater blade magazine configured to contain a primary recoater blade and at least one replacement recoater blade, wherein the recoater blade magazine is further configured to traverse across a build powder bed on the AM machine to distribute, with the primary recoater blade, build powder across the build powder bed;
• an optical transmitter associated with the recoater blade magazine, wherein the optical transmitter is configured to track a path of the primary recoater blade over the build powder bed;
• an optical sensor positioned to receive a light beam transmitted from the optical transmitter as the optical transmitter tracks the path of the primary recoater blade over the build powder bed, wherein if the optical sensor detects that the light beam transmitted from the optical transmitter is obscured or interrupted the optical sensor is configured to generate a failure signal indicating primary recoater blade failure;
• a controller configured to receive the failure signal transmitted from the optical sensor to the controller, wherein the controller is configured to command the recoater blade magazine and primary recoater blade to return to a recoater blade magazine starting position;
• a recoater blade disengagement mechanism configured to engage with a primary recoater blade retention mechanism to cause the primary recoater blade to eject from the recoater blade magazine into a recoater blade receptacle;
• and
• a recoater blade compression mechanism positioned in the recoater blade magazine, wherein the recoater blade compression mechanism is configured to urge a replacement recoater blade to descend in the recoater blade magazine to engage with the primary recoater blade retention mechanism whereby the replacement recoater blade becomes the primary recoater blade.