A caster assembly configured to process and store a material includes a reaction chamber, a storage assembly configured to store material processed in the reaction chamber, and a blower configured to process and store the material. The reaction chamber includes a vessel configured to hold the material in a melted state prior to processing and a powder generating assembly configured to receive the material from the melting vessel. The powder generating assembly includes a feeding chamber and a feeding device disposed at least partially within the feeding chamber. The feeding device includes at least one nozzle configured to inject inert fluid, where the fluid is a gas, liquid, or combination of the two into the feeding chamber and a material inlet through which the material is configured to flow into the feeding chamber to be exposed to the inert fluid, where the fluid is a gas, liquid, or combination of the two.

A system and corresponding method for additive manufacturing of a three-dimensional (3D) object to improve packing density of a powder bed used in the manufacturing process. The system and corresponding method enable higher density packing of the powder. Such higher density packing leads to better mechanical interlocking of particles, leading to lower sintering temperatures and reduced deformation of the 3D object during sintering. An embodiment of the system comprises means for adjusting a volume of a powder metered onto a top surface of the powder bed to produce an adjusted metered volume and means for spreading the adjusted metered volume to produce a smooth volume for forming a smooth layer of the powder with controlled packing density across the top surface of the powder bed. The controlled packing density enables uniform shrinkage, without warping, of the 3D object during sintering to produce higher quality 3D printed objects.

A system and corresponding method for additive manufacturing of a three-dimensional (3D) object to improve packing density of a powder bed used in the manufacturing process. The system and corresponding method enable higher density packing of the powder. Such higher density packing leads to better mechanical interlocking of particles, leading to lower sintering temperatures and reduced deformation of the 3D object during sintering. An embodiment of the system comprises means for adjusting a volume of a powder metered onto a top surface of the powder bed to produce an adjusted metered volume and means for spreading the adjusted metered volume to produce a smooth volume for forming a smooth layer of the powder with controlled packing density across the top surface of the powder bed. The controlled packing density enables uniform shrinkage, without warping, of the 3D object during sintering to produce higher quality 3D printed objects.

A three-dimensional shaping apparatus includes a plasticizing portion plasticizing a material to generate a shaping material, a nozzle having a discharge port discharging the shaping material toward a table, a movement mechanism changing a relative position between the nozzle and the table, a discharge control mechanism provided in a flow path which connects the plasticizing portion to the nozzle and controlling a discharge amount of the shaping material from the nozzle, and a control portion controlling the plasticizing portion, the movement mechanism, and the discharge control mechanism to shape the three-dimensional shaping object. The control portion controls the discharge control mechanism so that when a relative movement speed between the nozzle and the table is a first speed, the discharge amount of the shaping material is set to a first discharge amount, and when the relative movement speed between the nozzle and the table is a second speed which is slower than the first speed, the discharge amount of the shaping material is set to a second discharge amount which is smaller than the first discharge amount.

A three-dimensional shaping apparatus includes a plasticizing portion plasticizing a material to generate a shaping material, a nozzle having a discharge port discharging the shaping material toward a table, a movement mechanism changing a relative position between the nozzle and the table, a discharge control mechanism provided in a flow path which connects the plasticizing portion to the nozzle and controlling a discharge amount of the shaping material from the nozzle, and a control portion controlling the plasticizing portion, the movement mechanism, and the discharge control mechanism to shape the three-dimensional shaping object. The control portion controls the discharge control mechanism so that when a relative movement speed between the nozzle and the table is a first speed, the discharge amount of the shaping material is set to a first discharge amount, and when the relative movement speed between the nozzle and the table is a second speed which is slower than the first speed, the discharge amount of the shaping material is set to a second discharge amount which is smaller than the first discharge amount.

In an example implementation, a method of determining a sintering process endpoint includes monitoring gas flow through a detection gas line routed into a sintering furnace and through a furnace shelf on which a token green object is positioned. The method includes detecting a change in the gas flow when the token green object shrinks during a sintering process in the furnace, and determining that green objects being sintered in the furnace have reached a sintering endpoint when the change in the gas flow reaches a predetermined target.

A method for additively manufacturing components includes additively printing a metallic preform such that the preform contains a predetermined amount of porosity. Furthermore, the method includes working the additively printed preform such that the preform incurs a predetermined amount of deformation. Moreover, the method includes heat treating the worked preform to form a final component.

The invention relates to a method for determining production-related shape deviations (.sub.l,i) and stresses in a construction (11) produced by means of an additive production method, which construction is produced by solidifying construction material in successive layers (12). The invention further relates to a use of said method to produce corrected production data (19) and to the application of said production data in an additive production system. The invention further relates to a computer-readable data carrier and to a computer program for performing said method and to a simulation in which such a computer program can run. In the method, superlayers (13) are used in order to reduce the computational complexity of the simulation. According to the invention, in order to ensure a simulation result of sufficient accuracy with justifiable computational complexity, effective shrinkage factors (.sub.i or .sub.l,i) are determined for the solidified construction material in order to calculate the effective thermal shrinkage (.sub.l or .sub.l,i) in each superlayer (13).

The invention relates to a method for determining production-related shape deviations (.sub.l,i) and stresses in a construction (11) produced by means of an additive production method, which construction is produced by solidifying construction material in successive layers (12). The invention further relates to a use of said method to produce corrected production data (19) and to the application of said production data in an additive production system. The invention further relates to a computer-readable data carrier and to a computer program for performing said method and to a simulation in which such a computer program can run. In the method, superlayers (13) are used in order to reduce the computational complexity of the simulation. According to the invention, in order to ensure a simulation result of sufficient accuracy with justifiable computational complexity, effective shrinkage factors (.sub.i or .sub.l,i) are determined for the solidified construction material in order to calculate the effective thermal shrinkage (.sub.l or .sub.l,i) in each superlayer (13).

A method for dynamically controlling layer thickness during an additive manufacturing process of building a block including an object with layers of powder material, detecting a height of the block after each layer is compacted, determining a delta between the detected height and a height in a computer model defining slices of the block and compensating for the determined delta in subsequent cycles. A cycle in the additive manufacturing process includes selectively printing a layer pattern, spreading a powder layer over the layer pattern with a spreader and compacting the powder layer with the layer pattern.