A supply container includes a housing and a pocket on to the housing to receive a chip. The supply container also includes an alignment component on the housing to align the pocket with a chip access device.

A machine tool arranged to deliver an energy source through a processing head onto a work-piece, wherein; the machine-tool has a clamping mechanism arranged to temporarily receive the processing-head, or another machining or processing-head, to process a work-piece; the processing-head comprising one or more guiding mechanisms arranged to direct the energy source onto a work-piece and a processing-head docking-manifold arranged to have connected thereto one or more media to be, in use, supplied to the processing-head to facilitate processing of the work-piece; wherein the processing-head docking-manifold allows the one or more media to be supplied to the processing-head when the processing-head is connected to the clamping mechanism; and wherein the machine-tool also comprises at least one mechanism arranged to move a supply docking-manifold into and/or out of connection with the processing-head docking-manifold such that when the two manifolds are connected the or each media is supplied to the processing head.

The invention provides devices, systems, and methods for 3D printing. The invention employs slurries of particles or a solute in a carrier fluid, which may be a liquid or gas, in printing. The use of a slurry is advantageous in allowing for printing in any orientation.

The present disclosure relates to a machine tool including a bed, a table tiltably installed on the bed and configured such that a workpiece is seated on the table, a saddle movably installed on the bed, a column movably installed on the saddle, a spindle movably and tiltably installed on the column and configured to clamp or unclamp a tool and process a workpiece, and a stacking unit configured to perform stacking processing on the workpiece, in which the stacking unit is detachably mounted on the spindle while substituting for a tool to be clamped to the spindle and changing a mounting position of the stacking unit depending on a stacking processing position of the workpiece.

An additive manufacturing apparatus comprises a processing chamber (100) defining a window (110) for receiving a laser beam and an optical module (10) The optical module is removably-mountable to the processing chamber for delivering the laser beam through the window. The optical module contains optical components for focusing and steering the laser beam and a controlled atmosphere can be maintained within the module.

A three-dimensional (3D) printer includes a selective solidification module to selectively solidify portions of successive layers of a build material on a build platform. The 3D printer also includes a cartridge receiver to hold a removable material cartridge that accepts material from the 3D printer and makes material available to the 3D printer for printing of the 3D object.

A three-dimensional (3D) metal object manufacturing apparatus has a thermally insulative layer between a platform on which an ejection head ejects drops of melted metal and a X-Y translation mechanism on which the platform is moved within an X-Y plane opposite the ejection head. The apparatus also includes a housing having an internal volume in which the platform and X-Y translation mechanism are located. In one embodiment, the thermally insulative layer is a plurality of spheres made of a thermally insulative material such as a ceramic made of zirconium dioxide or zirconium oxide. The thermally insulative layer protects the X-Y mechanism while the housing helps keep the surface temperature of the object being formed on the platform in an optimal range for bonding of the ejected melted metal drops to the object's surface.

An apparatus for laser materials processing including a laser (4) for generating a laser beam and a laser head (5) which is movable along at least one spatial direction and is connected to the laser via a light guide, and which emits a laser beam (7) capable of processing a material. The present invention also relates to an apparatus for selective laser melting or selective laser sintering having an apparatus for laser materials processing.

An additive manufacturing apparatus includes a housing which provides a manufacturing space for additive manufacturing, a linear drive arranged in the manufacturing space and having a base body, which is movable along a movement axis of the linear drive in the manufacturing space, and a tool holder for taking up a tool unit. The tool holder is attached to the base body so as to be rotatable about a rotation axis and is moved with the base body along the movement axis of the linear drive. The tool holder further comprises a clamping device having an unclamped operating state for taking up and taking out the tool unit and a clamped operating state for fixing the received tool unit. Furthermore, the additive manufacturing apparatus has a tool store, which is arranged in the manufacturing space and provides a plurality of tool places for tool units.

A method of controlling a manufacturing process in which directed energy selectively melts material, forming a melt pool. The method includes: generating an image having an array of individual image elements, the image including measurement, for each image element, of two or more physical properties from the group including: color, emission frequency, and sheen, the measurements collectively indicating presence of: liquid phase, melting, or incipient melting; from the measurements, mapping a boundary of the melt pool, wherein for each of the measurements that indicate liquid phase, melting, or incipient melting, corresponding image elements are defined to be inside the boundary, and wherein for each of the measurements that do not indicate liquid phase, melting, or incipient melting, the corresponding image elements are defined to be outside of the boundary; and controlling at least one aspect of the additive manufacturing process with reference to the boundary.