Sakuu Corporation

Morteza Vatani

Seyed Mohammad Sajadi

Philip Eugene Rogren

Steven Zhichao Shi

Justin Carroll

Siamak Azizi

Timothy Byman

Ronald A Rojeski

David Paul Wanamaker

Karl Littau

Brian Lindahl

Kevin Nesdahl

Lawrence Nguyen

Peter Bruss

Don Ambli

Tom Hays

Tim Debruin

An improved apparatus and method provide conditioning to a powder deposited on a substrate (e.g., a web), for example, by wetting the powder in a 3D printing apparatus. To achieve this in an exemplary implementation, a wetting apparatus is located between a powder dispenser and at least one top calendering roller in a direction of movement of the substrate, wherein the wetting apparatus is configured to apply a wetting agent to the powder on the substrate before the powder passes through the calendering roller. The wetting agent is comprised of a material which increases cohesiveness of the powder to prevent the powder from adhering to the top roller. In a particular implementation, the wetting agent is steam confined to an area of the substrate where the powder passes through the wetting apparatus, without wetting other areas of the substrate which are not in the wetting apparatus.

Apparatus and method to provide conditioning to a deposited powder

An in-situ material regeneration method and system are provided that enable recovery, reconditioning and reuse of used build materials, including removed powder and removed liquids, thus increasing material utilization efficiency and reducing manufacturing costs.

Printing method for additive manufacturing, including in-situ powder regeneration

A wetness sensor, and a method and system using such a sensor, for detecting amounts of a wetting agent in a wetting agent absorbing material, including a sensor device located in contact with the wetting agent absorbing material and configured to monitor a parameter of the wetting agent absorbing material which varies in dependence on an amount of the wetting agent in the wetting agent absorbing material.

Wetness sensor, method and system for sensing an amount of a wetting agent

A jetted material printing system includes a carrier substrate configured to travel along a longitudinal direction thereof, one or more printheads, each of the one or more printheads being configured to deposit an amount of material onto the carrier substrate to form a printed layer, a liquid removal device located at a first position from the one or more printheads in the longitudinal direction, and a binder conditioning device located downstream from the liquid removal device in the longitudinal direction and over the carrier substrate. A method of jetted material printing includes depositing material from one or more printheads onto a carrier substrate, the material including at least a powder, a binder and a solvent, removing the solvent from the jetted material, and conditioning the jetted material.

Jetted material printer with vacuum fluid extraction

A three-dimensional (3D) printer includes a receiver device, a plurality of material deposition units for depositing a material including a particulate material and a liquid vehicle onto the receiver device to form a printed layer on the receiver device, and a material removing system that includes a plurality of extraction units for gradually removing the liquid vehicle from the printed layer. A delivery system of the 3D printer may transport the printed layer from the receiver device to a build platform for stacking a plurality of printed layers and a plurality of post-deposition processing stations may be positioned along the delivery system for performing post-deposition operations on the printed layer.

Method and system of using gradual drying in multi-material 3D printing

The present disclosure pertains to an improved method and apparatus for compacting a powder layer. An exemplary method comprises placing the substrate on a first plate, placing a second plate over the powder layer so that the substrate and the powder layer are sandwiched between the first plate and the second plate to form a multilayered structure comprising the first plate, the substrate, the powder layer and the second plate, and calendering the multilayered structure between a top calendering roller and a bottom calendering roller.

Method and apparatus for compacting a powder layer

An improved method and apparatus are provided for removing powder in an additive manufacturing system. In one implementation for removing non-patterned powder from a substrate having a patterned powder portion, and a non-patterned powder, at least one laser having beam parameters is applied to the non-patterned powder for a period of time sufficient to remove the non-patterned powder from the substrate.

Method and apparatus for powder removal in an additive manufacturing system

A three-dimensional (3D) printer and method are provided, including a substrate, a liquid deposition device configured to deposit a liquid dispersion including a suspension of a particulate material in a liquid vehicle, the liquid vehicle including a solvent but devoid of a binder material, onto the substrate to form a non-patterned layer on the substrate, a solvent removal device configured to remove at least a portion of the solvent from the liquid vehicle from the non-patterned layer to form a dried non-patterned layer, and a liquid binder print head configured to deposit a liquid binder onto the dried non-patterned layer to form a printed pattern on the dried non-patterned layer.

3D printer with pressure-assisted fluid extraction

An improved apparatus and method are provided to remove powder from a web, for example, in a 3D printing apparatus. A flexible blade is provided to contact and move across a first portion of the web located between adjacent portions of the web to scrape powder from the first portion without removing powder deposited on the adjacent portions. A pair of edge vacuum nozzles and a central vacuum nozzle are also provided to move with the flexible blade to remove powder from both edges of the first portion and a central region of the first portion.

Apparatus and method to remove powder with flexible scraper blade and adjustable side nozzles

Improved carrier plates and methods of use thereof are provided to secure and transport individual layers of a multilayer structure during manufacture of the multilayer structure. In one implementation a carrier plate is provided including a lower portion and a raised portion to support a flexible substrate holding an individual layer laid on an upper surface of the raised portion. Clamping mechanisms, such as rollers, are formed on extended regions adjacent to side walls of the raised portion. The clamping mechanisms are configured to move from open positions, where the clamping mechanisms are spaced apart from the sidewalls of the raised portion, to closed positions, where the clamping mechanisms secure opposite edge portions of the flexible substrate between the clamping mechanisms and the first and sidewalls of the raised portion.

Carrier plate and method of use thereof

A three-dimensional ('3D') printing system for printing on a substrate, the printing system including a plurality of powder feeders, the plurality of powder feeders dispensing a powder on the substrate in a first direction and in a second direction; and a powder uniformization device located adjacent to the plurality of powder feeders, the powder uniformization device rotatable along the substrate in directions opposing the first direction and the second direction.

Three-dimensional ('3D') printing apparatus with counter-rotating roller

A three-dimensional ('3D') printing system for printing on a substrate, the printing system including a powder distribution device dispensing powder on the substrate and including a blade-shaped end, the blade-shaped end disposed at a height above the substrate; a powder uniformization device located at a distance from the powder distribution device along a direction substantially parallel to a longitudinal axis of the substrate; one or more sensors disposed upstream from the powder uniformization device and configured to determine one or more parameters of a thickness of the dispensed powder at one or more locations; and a control apparatus configured to determine whether the one or more parameters of the thickness is above a predetermined threshold value, and if the one or more parameters is determined to be above the predetermined threshold value, to adjust the powder distribution device.

A method and system for 3D printing for creating at least two discrete sections of powder on a substrate, segmenting the substrate to isolate the at least two discrete sections of powder, compacting the powder on a segment of the substrate, removing loose/non-compacted powder from the segment of the substrate, create a printed/processed layer by performing one or more of a printing process or a processing operation on the segment of substrate, and transferring the printed/processed layers from the segment of substrate to a build platform.

Printing method for additive manufacturing, including in-situ powder regeneration by removing portions of deposited powder

Examples relate to a print station of a three-dimensional ('3D') printing apparatus, and method of 3D printing, the print station including a substrate configured to hold a printed object, the substrate having a longitudinal axis, and a print system over the substrate, the print system including a powder distribution device including a blade-shaped end, and a powder uniformization device located at a distance from the powder distribution device along a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis.

An improved method and apparatus for adding a new layer to a stack of previously processed layers. In an example, a method is provided for mounting the previously processed layer on a build platform, mounting the new layer on a substrate, aligning the new layer with the previously processed layer, moving the new layer and the previously processed into contact with one another, and applying energy to the new layer from an energy source through the substrate to simultaneously process the new layer and bond the new layer to the previously processed layer to form a bonded processed multilayer stack on the build platform. A flexible compliant pressure conveyance media is moved into contact with the substrate to apply pressure to the new layer while the energy is being applied.

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Los Gatos, CA, United States of America

Morteza Vatani