A novel material size reducing and storage device system comprising of a composting system and a three-dimensional (3D) printing system is disclosed. The compost system is configured to facilitate material size reduction of compostable material. The 3D printing system is configured to facilitate 3D printing of one or more objects using material that have been reduced to a predetermined size.

A method and an apparatus for collecting powder samples in real-time in powder bed fusion additive manufacturing may involves an ingester system for in-process collection and characterizations of powder samples. The collection may be performed periodically and uses the results of characterizations for adjustments in the powder bed fusion process. The ingester system of the present disclosure is capable of packaging powder samples collected in real-time into storage containers serving a multitude purposes of audit, process adjustments or actions.

A method and an apparatus for collecting powder samples in real-time in powder bed fusion additive manufacturing may involves an ingester system for in-process collection and characterizations of powder samples. The collection may be performed periodically and uses the results of characterizations for adjustments in the powder bed fusion process. The ingester system of the present disclosure is capable of packaging powder samples collected in real-time into storage containers serving a multitude purposes of audit, process adjustments or actions.

A method for operating a printer can include placing a first print material into a supply reservoir of the printer. The method also includes placing a second print material into the supply reservoir to combine with the first print material to form a diluted print material. The method also includes causing the diluted print material to exit the supply reservoir. Another method for operating a printer includes adding a first print material having a first melting point to a supply reservoir at a first rate. The method also includes adding a second print material having a second melting point to a supply reservoir at a second rate. The method for operating a printer also includes allowing the first print material and the second print material to combine to form a diluted print material. A printing system is also disclosed.

The present disclosure relates to a method and apparatus for cleaning a 3D printed article, in particular a 3D printed heat exchanger. After 3D printing, an article may have internal passages formed from bonded powder and said passages may contain unbonded powder that needs to be removed before further use of/processing of the article. To remove this unbonded powder, the article is filled with a cleaning fluid and vibrated. The cleaning fluid is then pumped out of the article and past a sensor that generates a magnetic field. The sensor detects the presence of powder particles in the fluid by detecting a perturbation of the magnetic field caused by said particles. The fluid is then filtered and returned to a reservoir for use. The sensor may indicate the article is sufficiently clean when a detected concentration of particles in the fluid drops below a threshold.

The present disclosure relates to a method and apparatus for cleaning a 3D printed article, in particular a 3D printed heat exchanger. After 3D printing, an article may have internal passages formed from bonded powder and said passages may contain unbonded powder that needs to be removed before further use of/processing of the article. To remove this unbonded powder, the article is filled with a cleaning fluid and vibrated. The cleaning fluid is then pumped out of the article and past a sensor that generates a magnetic field. The sensor detects the presence of powder particles in the fluid by detecting a perturbation of the magnetic field caused by said particles. The fluid is then filtered and returned to a reservoir for use. The sensor may indicate the article is sufficiently clean when a detected concentration of particles in the fluid drops below a threshold.

A method and an apparatus of a powder bed fusion additive manufacturing system that enables a quick change in the optical beam delivery size and intensity across locations of a print surface for different powdered materials while ensuring high availability of the system. A dynamic optical assembly containing a set of lens assemblies of different magnification ratios and a mechanical assembly may change the magnification ratios as needed. The dynamic optical assembly may include a transitional and rotational position control of the optics to minimize variations of the optical beam sizes across the print surface.

An additive manufacturing machine includes a laser light source, a beam entry window, a recoater, a plurality of light sources attached to the recoater, a photosensor, and a controller. The laser light source emits laser light to selectively melt one or more portions of a working layer of a powder bed during additive manufacturing of a part. The beam entry window is positioned between the powder bed and the laser light source. The recoater moves across the powder bed to spread the working layer. The photo sensor senses intensity of light emitted by each of the plurality of light sources through the beam entry window. The controller correlates sensed intensity of the light emitted by each of the plurality of light sources through the beam entry window to corresponding positions on the beam entry window based on locations of each of the plurality of light sources.

An additive manufacturing machine includes a laser light source, a beam entry window, a recoater, a plurality of light sources attached to the recoater, a photosensor, and a controller. The laser light source emits laser light to selectively melt one or more portions of a working layer of a powder bed during additive manufacturing of a part. The beam entry window is positioned between the powder bed and the laser light source. The recoater moves across the powder bed to spread the working layer. The photo sensor senses intensity of light emitted by each of the plurality of light sources through the beam entry window. The controller correlates sensed intensity of the light emitted by each of the plurality of light sources through the beam entry window to corresponding positions on the beam entry window based on locations of each of the plurality of light sources.

An additive manufacturing system including a two-dimensional energy patterning system for imaging a powder bed is disclosed. Improved structure formation, part creation and manipulation, use of multiple additive manufacturing systems, and high throughput manufacturing methods suitable for automated or semi-automated factories are also disclosed.