Coater Apparatus and Method for Additive Manufacturing

Abstract

An additive manufacturing apparatus includes: a coater including: at least one trough including a plurality of side-by-side deposition valves.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A additive manufacturing apparatus, comprising:
 a coater comprising:   at least one trough including a plurality of side-by-side deposition valves.   
     
     
         2 . The apparatus of  claim 1  wherein a plurality of the troughs are disposed in a side-by-side configuration. 
     
     
         3 . The apparatus of  claim 1  further comprising at least one reservoir communicating with the at least one trough, wherein the at least one reservoir includes a feed valve operable to selectively block or permit flow of a powder from the reservoir to the trough. 
     
     
         4 . The apparatus of  claim 3  wherein the feed valve is configured to meter powder at a constant flow rate. 
     
     
         5 . The apparatus of  claim 3  wherein a plurality of reservoirs are grouped into a column, each of the reservoirs of the column communicating with a funnel-shaped collector. 
     
     
         6 . The apparatus of  claim 3  wherein a plurality of the columns are grouped together in a side-by-side fashion, the reservoirs of each column communicating with a funnel-shaped collector, wherein each collector communicates with one of the troughs. 
     
     
         7 . The apparatus of  claim 1  wherein the coater is mounted for movement along at least one axis above a build platform defining a worksurface. 
     
     
         8 . The apparatus of  claim 7  further comprising an excess powder container disposed adjacent the build platform. 
     
     
         9 . The apparatus of  claim 7  further comprising a directed energy source operable to selectively fuse powder deposited on the worksurface. 
     
     
         10 . An additive manufacturing method, comprising:
 positioning a coater adjacent a worksurface, the coater comprising a trough including a plurality of side-by-side deposition valves;   depositing powder from the trough onto the build platform through at least one of the deposition valves; and   using radiant energy to fuse the powder.   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10  wherein the step of depositing powder includes:
 depositing powder from the through onto the build platform through at least one of the deposition valves while the coater is in a first position; 
 moving the coater to a new position; and 
 repeating the steps of depositing powder and moving the coater to build up a layer of powder on the build platform. 
 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 10  further comprising vibrating the deposited powder to level it before fusing. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 10  wherein the coater includes a plurality of troughs in a side-by-side arrangement, each trough including a plurality of side-by-side deposition valves, and the step of depositing powder includes:
 moving the coater to position a selected one of the troughs in a first position; 
 depositing powder from the selected trough onto the build platform through at least one of the deposition valves thereof; and 
 repeating the steps of moving the coater and depositing powder, using two or more of the troughs, such that the deposits of the powders from each of the troughs lie in a single row. 
 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13  wherein the step of depositing powder further comprises repeating the steps of moving the coater and depositing powder to build up a layer of powder on the build platform. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 13  wherein the powder deposited by each trough differs from the powder deposited by the other troughs in at least one of its composition or particle size. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 10  wherein the coater comprises a reservoir communicating with the at least one trough, the reservoir including a feed valve operable to selectively block or permit flow of a powder from the reservoir to the trough, the method further comprising using the feed valve to flow a controlled quantity of powder from the reservoir to the trough. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 10  wherein the coater comprises a reservoir communicating with the at least one trough, the reservoir including a feed valve operable to selectively block or permit flow of a powder from the reservoir to the trough, the method further comprising using the feed valve to flow a powder from the reservoir to the trough at a controlled rate. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 10  wherein:
 the coater comprises two or more troughs each including a plurality of side-by-side deposition valves; 
 the coater comprises two or more reservoirs communicating with each trough, each reservoir including a feed valve operable to selectively block or permit flow of a powder from the reservoir to the corresponding trough; and 
 wherein the method further comprises using the feed valves to flow a mixture of powders from the reservoir to the trough, wherein each of the powders of the mixture differs from the other powders of the mixture in at least one of its composition or particle size. 
 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18  wherein a plurality of the reservoirs are grouped into a column, each of the reservoirs of the column communicating with a funnel-shaped collector, wherein each collector communicates with one of the troughs.