Examples of the present disclosure relate to a build material container for a three-dimensional printing system. The container has an external casing with an upper surface, a lower compartment to receive a build material reservoir, at least one load-bearing element, and an upper compartment below the upper surface. The upper compartment and the lower compartment are separated by a lower surface. The at least one load-bearing element is arranged below the lower surface. The upper compartment has stiffening members arranged to distribute load received from the upper surface to the at least one load-bearing element.

A container arrangement of an unpacking device for a manufacturing device for additive manufacturing of a three-dimensional component is provided. The container arrangement includes a construction container with a construction chamber, and a collecting container that is releasably connected to the construction container and has a collecting chamber. The construction container has a container cover that, in the closed state, seals off the construction chamber and an inert atmosphere located therein from the surroundings. A collecting-container-side part of an interior of the container arrangement is provided inside the container arrangement. The container arrangement further includes an opening device that can be used, with the collecting-container-side part of the interior of the container arrangement being filled with an inert atmosphere, to open the closed container cover of the construction container and thereby to connect the construction chamber of the construction container to the collecting chamber of the collecting container.

A 3D printer comprises a printing machine to accommodate a build unit in a print position and a conveyor to move the build unit into the print position and out of the print position. The conveyor is to move the build unit vertically downward into the print position and to move the build unit vertically downward out of the print position. The 3D printer is to move a build platform of the built unit vertically downward relative to the a frame of the build unit as successive layers of build material are formed on the build platform and are selectively processed while the build unit is in the print position.

A surface finishing apparatus and method for smoothing and coloring parts made by additive-manufacturing technologies is disclosed. The surface finishing apparatus includes a tank or chamber into which a part is placed. A colorant is added. The part is both colored and smoothed until the part is at a desired smoothness and color. The part may be smoothed by different suitable smoothing technologies, including abrading with solid media, spraying with a liquid fluid, spraying with solid particles entrained in a liquid fluid, or submersing in a liquid vortex. Also disclosed is a composition for a colorant for a finishing process that smooths a surface of an additively manufactured part while coloring the additively manufactured part.

A surface finishing apparatus and method for smoothing and coloring parts made by additive-manufacturing technologies is disclosed. The surface finishing apparatus includes a tank or chamber into which a part is placed. A colorant is added. The part is both colored and smoothed until the part is at a desired smoothness and color. The part may be smoothed by different suitable smoothing technologies, including abrading with solid media, spraying with a liquid fluid, spraying with solid particles entrained in a liquid fluid, or submersing in a liquid vortex. Also disclosed is a composition for a colorant for a finishing process that smooths a surface of an additively manufactured part while coloring the additively manufactured part.

A system and method of additively manufacturing a part including electrically conductive or static dissipating fluorine-containing polymers. The method includes depositing fluorine-containing polymer additive manufacturing material onto a build platform, selectively cross-linking portions of the deposited additive manufacturing material, and curing the selectively cross-linked portions such that the part is at least one of electrically conductive and static dissipating.

This invention provides, by simple mechanical treatment, a metal powder that generates no smoke phenomenon when laminating and shaping a metal object even when decreasing a preheating temperature. In the metal powder, a solidification structure including a dendritic structure on the surface of the metal powder has been flattened. The solidification structure including the dendritic structure has been flattened by mechanical treatment including collision treatment of the metal powder. The mechanical treatment is performed by heating the metal powder to 100° C. to 300° C. The metal powder is a metal powder that is heated to a predetermined temperature and whose capacitance component of a measured impedance becomes zero. This metal powder is a powder of a metal alloy produced by an atomization process or a plasma rotation electrode process. The metal alloy includes a nickel-based alloy, a cobalt-chrome alloy, an iron-based alloy, an aluminum alloy, and a titanium alloy.

A 3D-printed in vitro model biological microenvironment in examples discussed below may have one or more of the following features: (a) a gel matrix 3D-printed scaffold, wherein the gel matrix comprises a chemical composition configured to culture a first type of live cells, (b) a target chemical disposed at one or more locations within the gel matrix, the target chemical forming a chemical depot from which a chemical gradient is created within the gel matrix, (c) a conduit disposed within the gel matrix and defining a lumen comprising a second type of live cells, wherein the conduit is configured to enable at least some of the first type of live cells to migrate through the conduit and facilitate flow of at least: some of the live cells to an outlet of the conduit, or enable introduction of at least one of other cells, Achemical mediators, or drugs into the 3D-printed microenvironment.

A 3D-printed in vitro model biological microenvironment in examples discussed below may have one or more of the following features: (a) a gel matrix 3D-printed scaffold, wherein the gel matrix comprises a chemical composition configured to culture a first type of live cells, (b) a target chemical disposed at one or more locations within the gel matrix, the target chemical forming a chemical depot from which a chemical gradient is created within the gel matrix, (c) a conduit disposed within the gel matrix and defining a lumen comprising a second type of live cells, wherein the conduit is configured to enable at least some of the first type of live cells to migrate through the conduit and facilitate flow of at least: some of the live cells to an outlet of the conduit, or enable introduction of at least one of other cells, Achemical mediators, or drugs into the 3D-printed microenvironment.

Plant (1) comprising at least one apparatus (2, 3, 17, 18) for additively manufacturing three-dimensional objects by means of successive layerwise selective irradiation and consolidation of layers of a build material which can be consolidated by means of an energy source, which plant (1) comprises at least one module (4) separably connected or connectable with the apparatus (2, 3, 17, 18), wherein the plant (1) comprises at least one tunnel structure (5) through which the at least one module (4) is moveable in a tunnel transport direction (6), wherein the at least one module (4) is moveable from the tunnel structure (5) into a work position (7) inside the apparatus (2, 3, 17, 18) along a loading direction (10) and the at least one module (4) is moveable from the work position (7) out of the apparatus (2, 3, 17, 18) along an unloading direction (12).