Powder dispensing system for additive manufacturing
AssigneeVulcanForms Inc.
InventorsLucas Buermeyer, William Curtis Stone
Life of this patent
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Abstract
System and method for dispensing powder material for an additive manufacturing system. A hopper can include a spline configured for rotation to dispense powder material from an exit opening of the hopper. A shield can be provided for one or both ends of the spline to help control powder movement at an interface with the spline, e.g., so powder that passes the interface is trapped in a space. An auger can be provided in a hopper and configured for moving powder in the hopper in two opposed directions in response to rotation of the auger in a single direction. A common drive can be used to move both an auger and spline. One or more load cells can be provided to determine a mass of powder delivered to and/or dispensed from the hopper.
Claims38
A recoater assembly for depositing a powder material for an additive manufacturing system, the recoater assembly comprising:
- a hopper body configured to hold the powder material;
- a spline comprising one or more cavities, wherein the spline is configured to rotate relative to the hopper body to dispense the powder material from the hopper body;
- and
- a metering blade positioned over a portion of the spline and configured to define a gap between the metering blade and the spline to limit an amount of powder material that passes through the gap in response to rotation of the spline, wherein the metering blade has a surface that faces the spline and diverges away from the spline in a direction from a leading edge of the metering blade toward a trailing edge of the metering blade.
A recoater assembly for depositing a powder material for an additive manufacturing system, the recoater assembly comprising:
- a hopper body configured to hold powder material;
- an auger configured to move powder material in the hopper body in two opposed directions in response to movement of the auger in a single direction;
- a spline configured to dispense powder material from the hopper body in response to rotation of the spline relative to the hopper body;
- and
- a metering blade positioned over a portion of the spline and configured to define a gap between the metering blade and the spline to limit an amount of powder material that passes through the gap in response to rotation of the spline, wherein the metering blade has a surface that faces the spline and diverges away from the spline in a direction from a leading edge of the metering blade toward a trailing edge of the metering blade.
A recoater assembly for depositing a powder material for an additive manufacturing system, the recoater assembly comprising:
- a hopper body configured to hold a powder material;
- an auger configured to move powder material in the hopper body;
- a spline configured to dispense the powder material from the hopper body;
- a drive system configured to move both the auger and the spline;
- and
- a metering blade positioned over a portion of the spline and configured to define a gap between the metering blade and the spline to limit an amount of powder material that passes through the gap in response to rotation of the spline, wherein the metering blade has a surface that faces the spline and diverges away from the spline in a direction from a leading edge of the metering blade toward a trailing edge of the metering blade.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.