Resource management system and additive manufacturing facility with such
AssigneeNikon SLM Solutions AG
InventorsBernd Müller, Kim Kulling, Jan Philipp Lührig, Daniel Schmidt
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A resource management system (39) manages a supply of resource material and/or resource items to a plurality of at least two additive manufacturing machines (3) for additive manufacturing. The resource management system (39) includes a control unit (41) that is configured to receive a signal indicative of a demand for resource material and/or resource items of any of the additive manufacturing machines (3). The control unit (41) is configured to schedule the supply of demanded resource material and/or resource items according to a predetermined prioritization scheme for resolving demand conflicts.
Claims18
A resource management system for managing a supply of resource items to a plurality of additive manufacturing machines, comprising at least two additive manufacturing machines for additive manufacturing, wherein the resource items are building chambers with a circumferential side wall, a lid, and a carrier on which three-dimensional work pieces are producible by additive manufacturing at the additive manufacturing machines, wherein the carrier comprises heating elements and fixation points for temporary fixing the carrier from below, wherein the carrier is axially movable within the circumferential side wall and can be locked in a bottom position, whereby the carrier sealingly closes the building chamber from below, and wherein the lid is configured to sealingly close the building chamber at the top, wherein the resource management system comprises a control unit that is configured to receive a signal indicative of a demand for the resource items of any of the additive manufacturing machines, wherein the control unit is configured to schedule the supply of the demanded resource items according to a pre-determined prioritization scheme for resolving demand conflicts, wherein the resource management system further comprises a supply system for supplying at least one kind of the demanded resource items to the additive manufacturing machines in a manner scheduled by the control unit.
A method for managing a supply of resource items to a plurality of additive manufacturing machines, comprising at least two additive manufacturing machines for additive manufacturing, wherein the resource items are building chambers with a lid, a circumferential side wall, and a carrier on which three-dimensional work pieces are producible from the resource items by additive manufacturing at the additive manufacturing machines, wherein the carrier comprises heating elements and fixation points for temporary fixing the carrier from below, wherein the carrier is axially movable within the circumferential side wall and can be locked in a bottom position, whereby the carrier sealingly closes the building chamber from below, and wherein the lid is configured to sealingly close the building chamber at the top, the method comprising:
- receiving a signal indicative of a demand for the resource items of any of the additive manufacturing machines, and
- scheduling the supply of the demanded resource items according to a pre-determined prioritization scheme for resolving demand conflicts, wherein the prioritization scheme is based on a current severity ranking of the consequences for undersupplying the demanded resource items in a current operation state of the additive manufacturing machines.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.