3D Printing Receiving Members for Powder Recovery
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
In three-dimensional printing devices using powdery materials, there is a challenge in recovering powdery material that flows outside during the spreading process, leading to manual recovery and potential unreusability due to particle separation.
Innovation Solution
The three-dimensional printing device incorporates first receiving members located below the supply tank on both sides, which can detachably attach to the housing. These members effectively collect powdery material that flows outside during the spreading process, allowing for easy reuse by returning the collected material to the supply tank.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of substance
If a dust collector is used to recover powdery material, then the powdery material can be collected, but the particles are separated and become non-reusable
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts only the excess powdery material that flows outside the supply tank using a receiving member, while leaving the main bulk of the material intact and reusable. This selective extraction avoids the complete recovery process that causes particle separation in dust collectors.
Solution Approach 2:
The receiving member acts as an intermediary component between the supply tank and the external environment. It intercepts and collects the excess material before it can be dispersed by a dust collector, thereby preventing particle separation and maintaining material reusability.
2Loss of substance
If manual recovery of powdery material is performed, then the material can be recovered, but the process becomes burdensome for the user
Solution Approach 1:
The receiving member is designed to automatically collect and retain the excess powdery material during the spreading process. The system serves itself by preventing material loss without requiring user intervention, thereby eliminating the burdensome manual recovery process.
Solution Approach 2:
The receiving member is pre-installed and positioned to intercept excess material before it can be dispersed or lost. This preliminary action of capturing the material eliminates the need for subsequent manual recovery operations.
3Ease of operation
If the receiving members are detachably provided on the housing, then the powdery material can be easily returned to the supply tank, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The receiving members are designed as detachable, modular components that can be easily removed and reattached to the housing. This segmentation allows for simple material return operations while keeping the added structural complexity minimal through standardized attachment mechanisms.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
To recover a portion, of a powdery material, that is caused to flow outside while the powdery material is being spread in a printing space. A three-dimensional printing device 100 includes a housing 10; a printing tank 20 including a printing space 20A, in which a powdery material 90 is to be accommodated and a three-dimensional printing object 92 is to be formed, the printing tank 20 being provided in the housing 10; a supply tank 30 provided in the housing 10 so as to be located to the front of the printing tank 20, the supply tank 30 including a storage space 30A, in which the powdery material 90, to be supplied to the printing space 20A, is to be stored; a spreading member 50 transporting the powdery material 90 from the supply tank 30 to the printing tank 20 and spreading the powdery material 90 in the printing space 20A; and first receiving members 121 detachably provided on the housing 10 so as to be located to the left of, and to the right of, the supply tank 30 and located below a top end 30T of the supply tank 30, the first receiving members 121 receiving a portion, of the powdery material 90, that is caused to flow outside from the supply tank 30 while the spreading member 50 is transporting the powdery material 90.