A three-dimensional PBF-AM apparatus includes a stage on which a powder material is spread, and a tubular build box disposed in a state of surrounding the stage. The build box includes a side wall portion having a first tubular member surrounding the stage and a second tubular member surrounding the stage with the first tubular member interposed therebetween and forming a space with the first tubular member, and moreover, a vacuum heat insulating layer can be formed inside the side wall portion by vacuuming the space.

A three-dimensional PBF-AM apparatus includes a stage on which a powder material is spread, and a tubular build box disposed in a state of surrounding the stage. The build box includes a side wall portion having a first tubular member surrounding the stage and a second tubular member surrounding the stage with the first tubular member interposed therebetween and forming a space with the first tubular member, and moreover, a vacuum heat insulating layer can be formed inside the side wall portion by vacuuming the space.

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.

In one example, a print head drop detector (202) is described. The print head drop detector (202) comprises a sampling volume and a fan (208) to cause an airflow though the sampling volume (206). Detection apparatus to detect the presence of non-gaseous material within the sampling volume is also provided.

A method and apparatus for manufacturing an equiaxed crystal aluminum alloy cast ingot by using additive manufacturing and rapid solidification techniques are provided. The apparatus comprises: a metal heating mechanism and a negative pressure cooling mechanism. The metal heating mechanism is located above the negative pressure cooling mechanism and is connected thereto by a nozzle. The negative pressure cooling mechanism comprises a vacuum chamber having an air inlet hole and an air outlet hole, and a three-dimensional moving ingot mechanism disposed inside the vacuum chamber. The three-dimensional moving ingot mechanism comprises a moving ingot and a two-dimensional moving platform vertically connected to the moving ingot. A water cooling mechanism is disposed outside the moving ingot, and the moving ingot is driven by a precision motor to precisely move up and down.

A plasticizing apparatus for plasticizing a material to form a molten material includes a screw in a columnar shape having a groove formed face, in which a material flow channel including a groove portion to be supplied with the material is formed, and a barrel having a screw opposed face, which is a face opposed to the groove formed face, and in which a sending-out hole for sending out the molten material is formed at a center, and a heating portion heating the material. The material flow channel has a recess provided at a center of the groove formed face, and the groove portion extending in a spiral shape toward an outer circumference of the groove formed face from the recess, and a heat insulating portion having a lower thermal conductivity than an outer circumferential portion in the screw is provided in at least a part of an inner circumferential portion including the recess in the screw.

A method operates a three-dimensional (3D) metal object manufacturing system to compensate for errors that occur during object formation. In the method, thermal image data and dimensional image data of a metal object being formed by the 3D metal object manufacturing system is generated prior to completion of the metal object. Thermal conditions are identified from these data and compared to predetermined ranges corresponding to the identified thermal conditions to identify one or more errors. For identified errors outside a corresponding predetermined difference range, the method performs an error compensation technique. The error compensation includes modification of a surface data model, modification of machine-ready instructions, or operation of a subtractive device.

An apparatus for carrying out a method for producing an object using selective powder melting and by building up layers of powder material. The apparatus includes a build chamber configured to accommodate the object being produced and a powder delivery device equipped with a powder storage container and configured to supply material powder into the build chamber, a powder layer preparation unit to prepare successive layers of the supplied material powder on a substrate arranged in the build chamber, an irradiation device configured to irradiate a prepared powder layer to thereby melt the prepared powder layer locally, and a protective gas circulation device configured to circulate a protective gas present in the build chamber. At least one air conditioning device is also included and is configured to condition one or more of a temperature or a humidity of the protective gas circulated by the protective gas circulation device.

An apparatus for carrying out a method for producing an object using selective powder melting and by building up layers of powder material. The apparatus includes a build chamber configured to accommodate the object being produced and a powder delivery device equipped with a powder storage container and configured to supply material powder into the build chamber, a powder layer preparation unit to prepare successive layers of the supplied material powder on a substrate arranged in the build chamber, an irradiation device configured to irradiate a prepared powder layer to thereby melt the prepared powder layer locally, and a protective gas circulation device configured to circulate a protective gas present in the build chamber. At least one air conditioning device is also included and is configured to condition one or more of a temperature or a humidity of the protective gas circulated by the protective gas circulation device.

Provided is a technique for fabricating a powder material bedded in advance using a DED nozzle. According to one embodiment, there is provided an AM apparatus for manufacturing a fabricated object. The AM apparatus includes a DED nozzle. The DED nozzle includes: a DED nozzle main body; a laser port disposed at a distal end of the DED nozzle main body and for emitting a laser beam, and a laser passage configured to communicate with the laser port and for allowing the laser beam to pass through the DED nozzle main body; and a powder port disposed at the distal end of the DED nozzle main body and for emitting a powder material, and a powder passage configured to communicate with the powder port and for allowing the powder material to pass through the DED nozzle main body. The AM apparatus further includes a cover configured to surround a peripheral area of the laser port and the powder port of the DED nozzle. The cover is configured to have an opened downstream side in an emission direction of the laser beam. The cover includes a gas supply passage for supplying a gas inside the cover. The gas supply passage is configured to be oriented so as to guide the gas toward the DED nozzle main body.