US 12,390,986 B2
Resin management system for additive manufacturing
Meredith Elissa Dubelman, Liberty Township, OH (US); Trent William Muhlenkamp, Cincinnati, OH (US); Kevin Robert Dickson, Dayton, OH (US); Christopher David Barnhill, Cincinnati, OH (US); and Brian Thomas Thompson, Loveland, OH (US)
Assigned to General Electric Company, Evendale, OH (US); and Unison Industries, LLC, Jacksonville, FL (US)
Filed by General Electric Company, Schenectady, NY (US); and Unison Industries, LLC, Jacksonville, FL (US)
Filed on Oct. 30, 2023, as Appl. No. 18/497,369.
Application 18/497,369 is a continuation of application No. 17/371,484, filed on Jul. 9, 2021, granted, now 11,826,950.
Prior Publication US 2024/0059008 A1, Feb. 22, 2024
Int. Cl. B29C 64/124 (2017.01); B29C 64/214 (2017.01); B29C 64/232 (2017.01); B29C 64/241 (2017.01); B29C 64/245 (2017.01); B29C 64/255 (2017.01); B29C 64/264 (2017.01); B29C 64/393 (2017.01); B33Y 10/00 (2015.01); B33Y 30/00 (2015.01); B33Y 50/02 (2015.01)
CPC B29C 64/124 (2017.08) [B29C 64/214 (2017.08); B29C 64/232 (2017.08); B29C 64/241 (2017.08); B29C 64/245 (2017.08); B29C 64/255 (2017.08); B29C 64/264 (2017.08); B29C 64/393 (2017.08); B33Y 10/00 (2014.12); B33Y 30/00 (2014.12); B33Y 50/02 (2014.12)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An additive manufacturing apparatus comprising:
a stage configured to hold a component;
a radiant energy device operable to generate and project radiant energy in a patterned image;
a resin management system including a material deposition assembly upstream of the stage and configured to deposit a resin on a resin support, the material deposition assembly comprising:
a reservoir configured to retain a first volume of the resin, wherein the reservoir defining an aperture that serves as an outlet for the resin support and a layer of the resin deposited on the resin support;
a vessel separated from the reservoir and configured to store a second volume of the resin;
an impeller positioned within the vessel and configured to agitate the resin within the vessel;
a conduit configured to direct the resin from the vessel to the reservoir; and
a regulator operably coupled with the conduit, the regulator configured to restrict flow of the resin from the vessel to the reservoir in a first position and allow flow from the vessel to the reservoir in a second position;
a restrictor operably coupled with the conduit upstream of the regulator, the restrictor configured to block a flow of the resin within the conduit between the vessel and the regulator when placed in a restricted position, the restrictor configured to maintain a blocked position while the conduit is disconnected from the regulator; and
a computing system operably coupled with the regulator, the computing system configured to actuate the regulator from the second position to the first position when the first volume of the resin deviates from a predefined range.