Spectra, Inc.

Fujifilm Dimatix, Inc.

Fujifilm Corporation

Desktop Metal, Inc.

Dimatix, Inc.

Fujifilm Dimatrix, Inc.

Heidelberger Druckmaschinen Ag

Nathan P. Hine

Paul A. Hoisington

Robert R. Schaffer

Lawrence R. Young

Steven H. Barss

Charles W., Jr. Spehrley

David G. Tomaszewski

Richard Carden

Paul A Hoisington

Andreas Bibl

Edward Russell Moynihan

Nathan P Hine

Kevin Von Essen

Steven H Barss

Melvin L Biggs

Christoph Menzel

Emanuel Michael Sachs

Mats G Ottosson

Deane Gardner

Charles W Spehrley, Jr

David W Gailus

John A Higginson

Yong Zhou

Robert G Palifka

Bruce A Paulson

Robert A Hasenbein

George Hudelson

Robert R Schaffer

John C Batterton

Marlene M McDonald

Jeffrey Birkmeyer

Keith Roy Vaillancourt

Jonah Samuel Myerberg

Zhenfang Chen

Daniel A Cote

Ricardo Fulop

Michael J Rocchio

Lawrence R Young

Gregory De Brabander

Richard Remo Fontana

Kanji Nagashima

Justin Cumming

Tadashi Kyoso

Shinya Sugimoto

Robert Michael Shydo, Jr

Tsutomu Kusakari

Mark Nepomnishy

Jamison Go

Steven J Fulton

Linda T Creagh

Anastasios John Hart

Arman Hajati

Michael Andrew Gibson

Don S Minami

Gregory DeBrabander

Jaan Thomas Laaspere

David Grose

Peter Wallis

Diane Mackay

David Adams-Brady

Christopher Benjamin Renner

Kenneth H Fischbeck

Amy L Brady

Stephen C Mackay

Marc A Torrey

Yoshimasa Okamura

Charles Edward Martin

John H Higginson

Brian Walsh

Jill Ann Hanson

Steven F Fulton

Jr Spehrley Charles W

Daniel David Sachs

William R Letendre

Michael Goldblatt

Charles W Spehrley

Mark Gardner Gibson

Kevin Michael Li

Alexander K McCalmont

Brett Schuster

David A Swett

Michael Anthony Cockett

Todd W Boucher

Daniel Alan West

Jaan Laspere

Steven Garrant

Cassia Lockwood

Joseph Johnson

David G Tomaszewski

Deane A Gardner

Robert Wells

Richard E Fontaine

Scott Leger

Toshana Krishna Natchurivalapil Rappai James

Michael Ducker

Eric Wong

Paul Beliveau

Marlene M Mcdonald

Robert Palifka

Devices, systems, and methods are directed to applying magnetohydrodynamic forces to liquid metal to eject liquid metal along a controlled pattern, such as a controlled three-dimensional pattern as part of additive manufacturing of an object. Electric current delivered to a meniscus of the liquid metal in a quiescent state can be directed to exert a pullback force on the liquid metal. The pullback force can be sufficient to draw the liquid metal, in the quiescent state, in a direction toward the nozzle to reduce the likelihood of unintended wetting of surfaces of the nozzle between uses of the nozzle.

Controlling meniscus position for magnetohydrodynamic metal manufacturing

Devices, systems, and methods are directed to the use of vapor phase change in binder jetting processes for forming three-dimensional objects. In general, a vapor of a first fluid may be directed to a layer of a powder spread across a build volume. The vapor may condense to reduce mobility of the particles of the powder of the layer. For example, the condensing vapor may reduce the likelihood of particle ejection from the layer and, thus, may reduce the likelihood of clogging or otherwise degrading a printhead used to jet a second fluid (e.g., a binder) to the layer. Further, or instead, the condensing vapor may increase the density of the powder in the layer which, when repeated over a plurality of layers forming a three-dimensional object, may reduce the likelihood of slumping of the part during sintering.

Managing powder mobility in binder jetting for additive manufacturing

A method is provided for printing a three-dimensional object. The method comprises, depositing a layer of metal powder onto a powder bed of a three-dimensional printer. A liquid is heated to generate a vapor. The liquid is removed from the vapor to dry the vapor by heating the vapor above a condensation temperature of the liquid. The dry vapor is deposited onto the powder bed of the three-dimensional printer.

Methods and systems for condensing a vapor on a powder bed

The devices, systems, and methods of the present disclosure are directed to powder spreading and binder distribution techniques for consistent and rapid layer-by-layer fabrication of three-dimensional objects formed through binder jetting. For example, a powder may be spread to form a layer along a volume defined by a powder box, a binder may be deposited along the layer to form a layer of a three-dimensional object, and the direction of spreading the layer and depositing the binder may be in a first direction and in a second direction, different from the first direction, thus facilitating rapid formation of the three-dimensional object with each passage of the print carriage over the volume. Powder delivery, powder spreading, thermal energy delivery, and combinations thereof, may facilitate consistently achieving quality standards as the rate of fabrication of the three-dimensional object is increased.

Multi-directional binder jetting additive manufacturing

A fluid ejector includes a fluid ejection module having a substrate and a layer separate from the substrate. The substrate includes a plurality of fluid ejection elements arranged in a matrix, each fluid ejection element configured to cause a fluid to be ejected from a nozzle. The layer separate from the substrate includes a plurality of electrical connections, each electrical connection adjacent to a corresponding fluid ejection element.

MEMS jetting structure for dense packing

Devices, systems, and methods are directed to applying magnetohydrodynamic forces to liquid metal to eject liquid metal along a controlled pattern, such as a controlled three-dimensional pattern as part of additive manufacturing of an object. Nozzles associated with these devices, systems, and methods include one or more non-wetting surfaces in the vicinity of a discharge orifice of the nozzle. Such non-wetting surfaces can reduce the likelihood that wetting of the liquid metal in the vicinity of a discharge orifice of a nozzle will interfere with ejection of liquid metal droplets from the discharge orifice and, thus, can facilitate delivering droplets with accuracy suitable for commercially viable manufacturing using liquid metal to fabricate objects.

Controlling wetting for magnetohydrodynamic metal manufacturing

Devices, systems, and methods are directed to the pneumatic ejection of liquid metal from a nozzle moving along a controlled three-dimensional pattern to fabricate a three-dimensional object through additive manufacturing. The metal is movable into the nozzle as a valve is actuated to control movement of pressurized gas into the nozzle. Such movement of metal into the valve as pressurized gas is being moved into the nozzle to create an ejection force on liquid metal in the nozzle can reduce or eliminate the need to replenish a supply of the metal in the nozzle and, therefore can facilitate continuous or substantially continuous liquid metal ejection for the fabrication of parts.

Pneumatic jetting of metal for additive manufacturing

A system for de-powdering one or more objects within a powder print bed comprises a build box configured to contain the powder print bed, and a de-powdering subsystem configured to engage the build box. The de-powdering subsystem comprises a vacuum device configured to withdraw loose powder agitated by the air jet device, and a robotic arm configured to convey the vacuum device to one or more locations on the powder print bed. The system may further comprise an air jet device disposed on the robotic arm, the air jet device configured to agitate, with a jet of air, unbound powder within the powder print bed. The system may further comprise a mechanical agitation instrument configured to facilitate agitation of the unbound powder within the powder print bed. The mechanical agitation instrument may be used in conjunction with one or both of the vacuum device and the air jet device.

Automated de-powdering with robotically controlled vacuum

A system for separating objects within a stacked powder print bed of nested objects comprises a build box configured to contain the powder print bed. The build box has a build box top and a build box floor. The system further includes an elongated aperture formed in a side wall of the build box, and a de-powdering subsystem configured to mechanically and electrically engage the build box. A separating blade associated with the de-powdering subsystem is configured to be inserted through the elongated aperture and into the powder print bed between a top-most print bed layer of the nested objects and a second print bed layer directly below and contiguous with the top-most layer, thereby forming an isolated powder print bed between the separating blade and the build box top. The unbound powder may be agitated by various techniques and subsequently removed from the objects.

Automated de-powdering with level based nesting

A fluid ejection module mounting apparatus, including a module mount having a horizontal portion and a vertical portion, a fluid ejection module mounted to the module mount, and a clamp assembly including a recessed portion, a clamp along a wall of the recessed portion, and a lever coupled to the clamp and configured to move the clamp from an open position to a closed position. The horizontal portion has an opening configured to receive a fluid ejection module and the vertical portion has a protruding portion. The protruding portion of the module mount is configured to mate with the recessed portion of the clamp assembly.

Fluid ejection module mounting

Growing community of inventors

Hanover, NH, United States of America

Paul A Hoisington