Embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to additive manufacturing apparatuses, cleaning stations incorporated therein, and methods of cleaning using the cleaning stations.

This optical shaping device is provided with: a resin tank; a resin supply part that is provided to one end section of the resin tank and supplies a liquid photocurable resin to the resin tank; and a resin discharge part that is provided to the other end section of the resin tank and discharges the photocurable resin to the resin tank. While a shaped object is formed by irradiation of at least the liquid photocurable resin with laser light beam or a light flux, the resin tank causes the photocurable resin to flow from the one end section toward the other end section.

A device for viewing and/or illuminating a target surface in an evacuated chamber having condensable vapor therein, the device comprising: a first section with a through hole having a first end with a first opening and a second end with a second opening; and a second section having a chamber comprising a first portion with a first opening, a second portion with a second opening and a gas inlet, where the second opening is covered with a first window, said first section is attached with the first end to the first portion of the chamber allowing free passage between the chamber and the first section, said gas inlet is connectable to a gas reservoir for feeding a gas into the chamber for prohibiting the first window in the chamber for being contaminated of the condensable vapor.

Three dimensional “green” parts are formed by combining sheet layers comprising metal powder bound together by a polymer. The “green” parts are then sintered to drive off the polymer and consolidate the metal powder to produce a monolithic metal part. Particularly, the invention is directed to processes for forming and stacking the shaped sheet layers that are readily automated and preserve the high value powder metal and polymer sheet trim scrap for reuse resulting in an additive overall process with little material waste. The invention includes processes in which “green” elements formed by methods such as three dimensional printing are incorporated into the “green” stack and become an integral part of the final sintered part. It further includes processes in which “green” sheet layers are shaped by methods such as hot bending or vacuum forming to provide three dimensional part features.

An intake manifold for an additive manufacturing system includes a body defining a flow channel therein. The body includes an inlet end defining an inlet configured to intake gas and/or particles from a build area of the additive manufacturing system, and an outlet end defining an outlet that is fluidly connected to the inlet through the flow channel. The outlet is configured to be in fluid communication with an uptake manifold of the additive manufacturing system. The intake manifold also includes at least one mount extending from the outlet end of the body that is configured to rotatably mount the body to the uptake manifold.

A cartridge for a manufacturing system includes a sealable chamber having a bed and a laser transparent window. A powder hopper can be positioned within the sealable chamber. A powder spreader is positioned within the sealable chamber for distributing powder from the powder hopper onto the bed.

A cartridge for a manufacturing system includes a sealable chamber having a bed and a laser transparent window. A powder hopper can be positioned within the sealable chamber. A powder spreader is positioned within the sealable chamber for distributing powder from the powder hopper onto the bed.

In some examples, a fluid system includes a support structure to attach a fluid dispensing device comprising a fluid chamber to contain a fluid, and an orifice to dispense the fluid from the fluid chamber. The fluid system includes a circulation path comprising a path portion in the fluid dispensing device, the circulation path to circulate a fluid flow through the fluid chamber to remove, from the fluid chamber, a particle ingested through the orifice. A filter in the circulation path is to remove the particle from the circulation path.

In some examples, a fluid system includes a support structure to attach a fluid dispensing device comprising a fluid chamber to contain a fluid, and an orifice to dispense the fluid from the fluid chamber. The fluid system includes a circulation path comprising a path portion in the fluid dispensing device, the circulation path to circulate a fluid flow through the fluid chamber to remove, from the fluid chamber, a particle ingested through the orifice. A filter in the circulation path is to remove the particle from the circulation path.

A robot fleet management platform includes a job parsing system that applies filters to identify portions of a job request suitable for robot automation. Based on the identified portions and a first fleet objective of the job request, a task system establishes tasks that define a robot type and task objective. A proxy service associates a robot of a robot fleet to each task and adaptation instructions to define how to adapt the robot fleet to perform the tasks. A workflow system generates a workflow defining a performance order of the tasks. A simulation system applies the workflow in an environment that includes digital models of the robot fleet and the tasks. The simulation is used to iteratively redefine the tasks and workflow until a second fleet objective is satisfied. A generation system generates a job execution plan in response to the simulation satisfying the first and second fleet objectives.