Three-dimensional modeling apparatus
First Claim
1. A three-dimensional modeling apparatus for fabricating a three-dimensional object by applying a binding material to a powder material to bind said powder material thereby to form bodies of bound powder material in sequence, said apparatus comprising:
- a powder spreader mechanism being movable toward a predetermined travel direction for spreading said powder material along said travel direction to form a layer of said powder material; and
a powder supply mechanism moving along said travel direction for supplying said powder material ahead of said powder spreader mechanism along said travel direction.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A three-dimensional modeling apparatus fabricates a 3D object by applying a binding material to a powder material to bind the powder material thereby to form bodies of bound powder material in sequence. The apparatus aims to form layers of uniform thickness at high speed without an increase in size. This apparatus comprises a powder spreader mechanism and a powder supply mechanism. The powder spreader mechanism is movable toward a predetermined travel direction for spreading the powder material along the travel direction to form a layer of the powder material. The powder supply mechanism is configured to move along the travel direction of the powder spreader mechanism for supplying the powder material ahead of the powder spreader mechanism along the travel direction.
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Citations
17 Claims
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1. A three-dimensional modeling apparatus for fabricating a three-dimensional object by applying a binding material to a powder material to bind said powder material thereby to form bodies of bound powder material in sequence,
said apparatus comprising: -
a powder spreader mechanism being movable toward a predetermined travel direction for spreading said powder material along said travel direction to form a layer of said powder material; and
a powder supply mechanism moving along said travel direction for supplying said powder material ahead of said powder spreader mechanism along said travel direction. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A three-dimensional modeling apparatus for fabricating a three-dimensional object by applying a binding material to a powder material to bind said powder material thereby to form bodies of bound powder material in sequence,
said apparatus comprising: -
a powder spreader mechanism being reciprocally movable along a predetermined travel direction for spreading said powder material along said travel direction to form a layer of said powder material; and
a powder supply mechanism for supplying said powder material ahead of said powder spreader mechanism along either direction of reciprocating movement of said powder spreader mechanism. - View Dependent Claims (9)
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10. A three-dimensional modeling apparatus for fabricating a three-dimensional object by applying a binding material to a powder material to bind said powder material thereby to form bodies of bound powder material in sequence,
said apparatus comprising: -
a powder spreader mechanism being movable toward a predetermined travel direction for spreading said powder material along said travel direction to form a layer of said powder material;
a powder supply mechanism for supplying said powder material ahead of said powder spreader mechanism along said travel direction; and
a powder supply varying member for varying a supply of said powder material from said powder supply mechanism according to a thickness of said layer formed by said powder spreader mechanism.
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11. A three-dimensional modeling apparatus for fabricating a three-dimensional object by applying a binding material to a powder material to bind said powder material thereby to form bodies of bound powder material in sequence,
said apparatus comprising: -
a powder spreader mechanism for spreading said powder material along a predetermined travel direction by moving a roller toward said travel direction while at the same time, rotating said roller in a predetermined direction, thereby to form a layer of said powder material; and
a powder removal member for removing powder adhering to the surface of said roller. - View Dependent Claims (12)
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13. A three-dimensional modeling apparatus for fabricating a three-dimensional object from a powder material and a binding material, comprising:
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a powder supply mechanism for supplying said powder material to form a layer of said powder material in a predetermined modeling space;
a smoothing member for smoothing out said powder material supplied from said powder supply mechanism;
a first drive mechanism for driving said powder supply mechanism to scan a plane in said modeling space;
a second drive mechanism for driving said smoothing member to scan said plane, following after said powder supply mechanism driven by said first drive mechanism;
a binder supply mechanism for supplying said binding material onto said powder material smoothed, to represent a section of said three-dimensional object in said plane, following after said smoothing member driven by said second drive mechanism; and
a controller for controlling said first drive mechanism, said second drive mechanism, and said binding material supply mechanism to repeat a drive and a supply a required number of times, to generate said three-dimensional object from said powder material bound with said binding material in said modeling space. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16)
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17. A three-dimensional modeling method for fabricating a three-dimensional object from a powder material bound with a binding material in a stepwise fashion,
said method comprising: -
a first step of forming a layer of said powder material; and
a second step of selectively supplying said binding material to said layer of said powder material, said first and second steps being repeatedly performed to fabricate said three-dimensional object, said first step including the steps of;
supplying said powder material onto a previously-formed layer of said powder material while scanning said previously-formed layer; and
smoothing out said powder material supplied, to form a layer of said powder material.
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Specification