US 11,980,940 B2
Controlled environment for additive manufacturing
Emanuel Michael Sachs, Newtown, MA (US); Julian Bell, Jamaica Plain, MA (US); and Nicholas Graham Bandiera, Burlington, MA (US)
Assigned to Desktop Metal, Inc., Burlington, MA (US)
Appl. No. 17/438,439
Filed by Desktop Metal, Inc., Burlington, MA (US)
PCT Filed Mar. 20, 2020, PCT No. PCT/US2020/023974
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Sep. 12, 2021,
PCT Pub. No. WO2020/198050, PCT Pub. Date Oct. 1, 2020.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/822,285, filed on Mar. 22, 2019.
Prior Publication US 2022/0152706 A1, May 19, 2022
Int. Cl. B33Y 10/00 (2015.01); B22D 23/00 (2006.01); B22F 10/22 (2021.01); B22F 12/70 (2021.01); B33Y 30/00 (2015.01); B33Y 40/00 (2020.01)
CPC B22F 12/70 (2021.01) [B22D 23/003 (2013.01); B22F 10/22 (2021.01); B33Y 10/00 (2014.12); B33Y 30/00 (2014.12); B33Y 40/00 (2014.12)] 24 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A controlled environment system for the additive manufacture of metal objects using magnetohydrodynamic jetting, comprising:
a sealing plate;
a volume enclosure including a Péclet gap seal formed by a gap between the sealing plate and the volume enclosure, the gap at least partially defined by a gap dimension and a sealing length, wherein the Péclet gap seal includes a flow of inert gas through the gap from an external gas supply to maintain a high-purity atmosphere in an interior volume of the volume enclosure;
a print head configured to deliver build material through an opening in the sealing plate; and
a build platform within the interior volume of the volume enclosure movable relative to the sealing plate.
 
13. A method of controlling an environment for the additive manufacture of metal objects using magnetohydrodynamic jetting, comprising:
providing a sealing plate;
disposing a Péclet gap seal formed by a gap between the sealing plate and a volume enclosure, the gap at least partially defined by a gap dimension and a sealing length;
flowing an inert gas at the Péclet gap seal to maintain a high-purity atmosphere in an interior volume of the volume enclosure;
moving a build platform relative to the sealing plate within the interior volume of the volume enclosure; and
delivering a build material to the build plate through an opening in the sealing plate.