# US 2025/0050412 A1 · Metal powder-based manufacturing process in low impurity gas atmosphere and system

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- Number: US 2025/0050412 A1
- Document ID: US20250050412A1
- Status: Published application
- Kind: A1
- Application number: 18/928,533
- Filed: 2024-10-28
- Published: 2025-02-13
- Earliest claimed: 2019-05-24
- Applicants: Equispheres Inc.
- Inventors: Martin John CONLON; Jonathan PHILLIPS; Sean Robert DOUTRE; Kamran AZARI DORCHEH; Abdullah Mohammad Khalid HAFIZ; James BASTIEN; Kenneth Gerald JOHNSON
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20250050412A1

## CPC

- B22F 3/10: Sintering only
- B22F 3/003: {Apparatus, e.g. furnaces (in general F27B)}
- B22F 9/08: by casting, e.g. through sieves or in water, by atomising or spraying (using electric discharge B22F9/14)
- B22F 10/20: Direct sintering or melting
- B22F 10/32: of the atmosphere, e.g. composition or pressure in a building chamber
- B22F 10/85: for controlling or regulating additive manufacturing processes
- B22F 12/10: Auxiliary heating means
- B22F 12/70: Gas flow means
- B22F 12/90: Means for process control, e.g. cameras or sensors
- B33Y 30/00: Apparatus for additive manufacturing; Details thereof or accessories therefor
- B33Y 40/00: Auxiliary operations or equipment, e.g. for material handling
- B33Y 50/02: for controlling or regulating additive manufacturing processes
- B22F 10/14: by jetting of binder onto a bed of metal powder
- B22F 10/18: by mixing binder with metal in filament form, e.g. fused filament fabrication [FFF]
- B22F 10/25: Direct deposition of metal particles, e.g. direct metal deposition [DMD] or laser engineered net shaping [LENS]
- B22F 10/28: Powder bed fusion, e.g. selective laser melting [SLM] or electron beam melting [EBM]
- B22F 10/77: of gas
- B22F 2201/11: Argon
- B22F 2201/12: Helium
- B22F 2998/10: Processes characterised by the sequence of their steps
- B22F 2999/00: Aspects linked to processes or compositions used in powder metallurgy
- Y02P 10/25: Process efficiency
- 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
- Y02P: CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES IN THE PRODUCTION OR PROCESSING OF GOODS

## Abstract

A metal powder-based manufacturing system is provided and comprises: a sealed vessel defining a manufacturing chamber; a metal transformation/conversion unit contained in the manufacturing chamber and configured to heat a metal-based feedstock for transformation/conversion; an inert gas source in gas communication with the manufacturing chamber to supply inert gas therein, the inert gas source being operatively connected to the manufacturing chamber through an inert gas line; and at least one gas purifying unit in gas communication with the manufacturing chamber to purify the inert gas to obtain a purified inert gas having an oxygen partial pressure below about 100 ppb. A process for transforming/converting metal in a purified inert gas atmosphere.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A metal powder-based manufacturing system comprising:
a sealed vessel defining a manufacturing chamber containing a total gas volume;
a metal transformation/conversion unit comprising one of an additive manufacturing unit using powder particles and a metal-based powder manufacturing unit configured to atomize powder particles, wherein the powder particles have a mean diameter ranging between about 10 μm and about 125 μm, wherein the metal conversion unit is contained in the manufacturing chamber and configured to heat a metal-based feedstock;
an inert gas source in gas communication with the manufacturing chamber to supply inert gas therein, the inert gas source being operatively connected to the manufacturing chamber through an inert gas line;
at least one gas purifying unit in gas communication with the manufacturing chamber to purify the inert gas to obtain a purified inert gas having an oxygen partial pressure below about 100 ppb; and
a recirculatory scrubbing system including a closed-loop recirculation gas line extending between a recirculatory gas inlet port and a recirculatory gas outlet port defined in the vessel and in gas communication with the manufacturing chamber;
wherein the recirculatory scrubbing system is configured to recycle between 1 and 50% (vol.) of the total gas volume per minute; and
wherein at least one of the at least one gas purifying unit is mounted to the closed-loop recirculation gas line and in gas communication therewith to purify the inert gas flowing therein to produce the purified inert gas having the oxygen partial pressure below about 100 ppb.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The metal powder-based manufacturing system of claim 1, further comprising a vacuum unit in gas communication with the manufacturing chamber to create a substantial vacuum therein.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The metal powder-based manufacturing system of claim 1, wherein the metal transformation/conversion unit comprises a powder metallurgy unit or a sintering furnace.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The metal powder-based manufacturing system of claim 1, wherein the metal transformation/conversion unit is configured to melt the metal-based feedstock and solidify the melted metal into at least one resultant 3D part.

### Claim 5 (depends on 4)

The metal powder-based manufacturing system of claim 4, wherein the at least one resultant 3D part comprises a plurality of powder particles.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The metal powder-based manufacturing system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the at least one gas purifying unit is mounted to the inert gas line, downstream of the inert gas source, to purify the inert gas supplied by the inert gas source to the purified inert gas having an oxygen partial pressure below about 100 ppb before being introduced into the manufacturing chamber.

### Claim 7 (depends on 6)

The metal powder-based manufacturing system of claim 6, further comprising a heating unit mounted to the inert gas line, downstream of the at least one gas purifying unit configured to heat the purified inert gas before being introduced into the manufacturing chamber.

### Claim 8 (depends on 1)

The metal powder-based manufacturing system of claim 1, wherein the recirculatory scrubbing system further comprises a heating unit mounted downstream of the at least one purifying unit to heat the inert gas flowing in the recirculation gas line before being introduced in the manufacturing chamber.

### Claim 9 (depends on 1)

The metal powder-based manufacturing system of claim 1, wherein the recirculatory scrubbing system further comprises a heat exchanger that is mounted upstream to the at least one purifying unit to cool down the inert gas flowing in the recirculation gas line.

### Claim 10 (depends on 1)

The metal powder-based manufacturing system of claim 1, wherein the recirculatory scrubbing system further comprises a gas compressor mounted to the recirculation gas line, and the system further comprises an oxygen sensor assembly monitoring an oxygen partial pressure in the manufacturing chamber and a controller operatively connected to the gas compressor and the oxygen sensor assembly and varying a speed of the gas compressor based on the oxygen partial pressure monitored by the oxygen sensor assembly.

### Claim 11 (depends on 10)

The metal powder-based manufacturing system of claim 10, wherein the oxygen sensor assembly comprises a ppm oxygen sensor and a ppb oxygen sensor wherein the ppb oxygen sensor is operative when a monitored oxygen content is below a ppm detection threshold.

### Claim 12 (depends on 1)

The metal powder-based manufacturing system of claim 1, wherein the oxygen partial pressure of the purified inert gas is below about 50 ppb.

### Claim 13 (depends on 1)

The metal powder-based manufacturing system of claim 1, wherein the oxygen partial pressure of the purified inert gas is below about 20 ppb.

### Claim 14 (depends on 1)

The metal powder-based manufacturing system of claim 1, further comprising a heating unit located one of inside the manufacturing chamber and in conductive heat exchange therewith to heat the inert gas contained inside the manufacturing chamber.

### Claim 15 (depends on 1)

The metal powder-based manufacturing system of claim 1, wherein the metal transformation/conversion unit is configured to heat the metal-based feedstock to a temperature below its melting point and cool down the heated metal into at least one resultant 3D part.

### Claim 16 (depends on 1)

The metal powder-based manufacturing system of claim 1, wherein the at least one gas purifying unit comprise a gas impermeable housing containing a sorption agent.