Apparatus and methods for removing printed articles from a 3-D printer
First Claim
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1. An apparatus for extracting an article from a powder bed in a build chamber of a three-dimensional printer, the apparatus comprising:
- a mechanism adapted for use with the three-dimensional printer and disposed at least partially within the build chamber and adapted for displacing the article comprising bound powder from the powder bed comprising unbound powder by at least one of;
pushing the article at least partially out of the powder bed;
pulling the article at least partially out of the powder bed; and
changing a boundary of the build chamber to move at least a portion of the unbound powder away from the article.
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Abstract
The invention relates to methods and apparatus for removing finished articles from a powder-based rapid prototyping system. In particular, the invention relates to extracting a printed article from a powder bed in a build chamber of a three-dimensional printer by using a mechanism adapted for displacing the article by at least one of pushing the article at least partially out of the powder bed, pulling the article at least partially out of the powder bed, or changing a boundary of the build chamber to move at least a portion of the unbound powder away from the article.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. An apparatus for extracting an article from a powder bed in a build chamber of a three-dimensional printer, the apparatus comprising:
a mechanism adapted for use with the three-dimensional printer and disposed at least partially within the build chamber and adapted for displacing the article comprising bound powder from the powder bed comprising unbound powder by at least one of;
pushing the article at least partially out of the powder bed;
pulling the article at least partially out of the powder bed; and
changing a boundary of the build chamber to move at least a portion of the unbound powder away from the article. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A method of extracting an article from a powder bed in a build chamber of a three-dimensional printer, the method comprising the steps of:
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displacing the article comprising bound powder from the powder bed comprising unbound powder by employing a mechanism adapted for use with the three-dimensional printer and disposed at least partially within the build chamber by at least one of;
push the article at least partially out of the powder bed;
pull the article at least partially out of the powder bed; and
change a boundary of the build chamber to move at least a portion of the unbound powder away from the article; and
removing the article from the three-dimensional printer. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. An apparatus for removing a printed article from a three-dimensional printer, the apparatus comprising:
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a build chamber disposed within the three-dimensional printer;
a moveable build surface disposed within the build chamber and adapted for receiving unbound powder, portions of layers of the unbound powder being bonded through the action of the three-dimensional printer to produce the printed article; and
an ejection mechanism disposed through at least one of the build surface and a wall of the build chamber, wherein, the ejection mechanism is adapted for movement relative to at least one of the build surface and the wall of the build chamber. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15)
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16. An apparatus for removing a printed article from a three-dimensional printer, the apparatus comprising:
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a build chamber at least partially disposed within the three-dimensional printer and comprising a moveable build surface and at least one moveable wall, wherein the build chamber is adapted for receiving unbound powder for producing the printed article; and
wherein the at least one moveable wall is separable from the build surface to allow unused powder to exit the chamber. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18)
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19. A method for extracting a printed article from a three-dimensional printer, the method comprising:
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supporting the printed article within a build chamber with an ejection mechanism, wherein the build chamber is adapted for receiving unbound powder, portions of layers of the unbound powder being bonded through the action of the three-dimensional printer to produce the printed article, and wherein the ejection mechanism is disposed through a build surface located within the build chamber; and
moving at least one of the ejection mechanism and the build surface relative to the other to separate the printed article from unbound powder in the build chamber during the printing process. - View Dependent Claims (20)
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Specification