An image reading apparatus includes a first conveyance roller, a second conveyance roller, a first conveyance guide, a second conveyance guide configured to move between an opposed position being opposed to the first conveyance guide and a retracting position being retracted from the opposed position, and an image reading unit opposed to the first conveyance guide and configured to move in a width direction orthogonal to the sheet conveyance direction and read image information on a sheet. The second conveyance guide is configured to move to the retracting position in response to the image reading unit moving in the width direction and reading the image information on the sheet.

Systems and methods for constructing 3-dimensional (3D) parts are disclosed. A printing system may include a deposition system configured to print a plurality of 2-dimensional (2D) layers onto a plurality of carrier sheets. The printing system also includes a transferring system configured to transfer a 2D layer from a carrier sheet of the plurality of carrier sheets, onto the 3D part. The 3D part may be located on a base substrate. The printing system further includes a feed system configured to provide the plurality of carrier sheets from the deposition system to the transfer system in a successive fashion while maintaining the directionality of printing in the deposition and transferring systems.

A method is described for producing a component, having a first constructive step in which a support material is applied onto a bearer using a photoelectric print method in the first constructive step to form at least one auxiliary structure, the auxiliary structure having and/or forming intermediate spaces, and having a second constructive step, in which a component material is filled into the intermediate spaces using a further photoelectric print method to form a component structure, the auxiliary structure and the component structure forming a blank segment of the component, the component material being a powder, the powder including composite particles, the composite particles being formed by ceramic and/or metallic core particles that include a polymer 23.

An image forming apparatus includes: a belt unit including a transfer belt and a first memory that stores a first sheet conveying speed of the transfer belt; a second memory storing a first reference value and a second sheet conveying speed of the fixing unit a controller configured to: control at least one of the belt motor and the fixing motor to bring the speed difference between the sheet conveying speed of the transfer belt and the sheet conveying speed of the fixing unit closer to the first reference value by setting a rotational speed of the fixing motor based on the first reference value and a first speed difference between the first sheet conveying speed read from the first memory and the second sheet conveying speed read from the second memory.

An image forming apparatus includes: a belt unit including a transfer belt and a first memory that stores a first sheet conveying speed of the transfer belt; a second memory storing a first reference value and a second sheet conveying speed of the fixing unit a controller configured to: control at least one of the belt motor and the fixing motor to bring the speed difference between the sheet conveying speed of the transfer belt and the sheet conveying speed of the fixing unit closer to the first reference value by setting a rotational speed of the fixing motor based on the first reference value and a first speed difference between the first sheet conveying speed read from the first memory and the second sheet conveying speed read from the second memory.

An adhesion apparatus includes: an image forming unit configured to form, through an electrophotographic process, an adhesive image of a powder adhesive on a sheet that is conveyed; and a control unit configured to control the image forming unit to use a first pattern in a first conveyance period, and use a second pattern different from the first pattern in a second conveyance period following the first conveyance period, as a formation pattern in an adhering section corresponding to part of a width direction orthogonal to a conveyance direction of the sheet.

An image reading apparatus includes a stacking tray, a feeding roller, a restricting member configured to move to a restricting position and a retracted position, a reading sensor, a reversing roller configured to perform a reversing operation, a first conveyance path, a second conveyance, and a controller. The controller is configured to permit the reversing operation if the controller receives an execution instruction of a double-sided reading job on a sheet having a first size, and prohibit the reversing operation if the controller receives an execution instruction of the double-sided reading job on a sheet having a second size smaller than the first size.

A water dispersible sulfopolymer for use as a material in the layer-wise additive manufacture of a 3D part made of a non water dispersible polymer wherein the water dispersible polymer is a reaction product of a metal sulfo monomer, the water dispersible sulfo-polymer being dispersible in water resulting in separation of the water dispersible polymer from the 3D part made of the non water dispersible polymer.

A method for printing a three-dimensional part with an electrophotography-based additive manufacturing system having an electrophotography engine, a transfer medium, and a layer transfusion assembly includes providing a part material to the electrophotography-based additive manufacturing system, the part material compositionally comprising a charge control agent, and a thermoplastic material having a heat deflection temperature greater than about 150° C., and has a powder form. The method includes triboelectrically charging the part material to a Q/M ratio having a negative charge or a positive charge, and a magnitude ranging from about 5 micro-Coulombs/gram to about 50 micro-Coulombs/gram and developing layers of the three-dimensional part from the charged part material with the electrophotography engine. The method includes electrostatically attracting the developed layers from the electrophotography engine to the transfer medium and moving the attracted layers to the layer transfusion assembly with the transfer medium, wherein the layer transfusion assembly comprises a nip roller. The method includes transfusing the moved layers to previously-printed layers of the three-dimensional part with by moving the attracted layers about a nip of a nip roller using heat and pressure over time.

A method for printing a three-dimensional part with an additive manufacturing system, which includes providing a part material that compositionally has one or more semi-crystalline polymers and one or more secondary materials that are configured to retard crystallization of the one or more semi-crystalline polymers, where the one or more secondary materials are substantially miscible with the one or more semi-crystalline polymers. The method also includes melting the part material in the additive manufacturing system, forming at least a portion of a layer of the three-dimensional part from the melted part material in a build environment, and maintaining the build environment at an annealing temperature that is between a glass transition temperature of the part material and a cold crystallization temperature of the part material.