Patent ID: 11880195
Assignee: JABIL INC.
Field: Other special machines (Mechanical engineering)
Classification: CPC G  B  H  Y | IPC B  G  H

Claim 0:
1. An apparatus for forming print material particles for additive manufacturing (AM) printing, comprising:
a melt chamber comprising a polymer melt;
an atomizer that atomizes the polymer melt and that distributes the atomized polymer melt;
a fall chamber comprising a plurality of zones into which the atomized polymer melt is distributed;
one or more vane baffles suitable to control a flow of the distribution of the atomized polymer melt, including temporary suspension thereof in the fall chamber, after entry to the fall chamber, wherein each of the vane baffles is affixed to a wall of the fall chamber;
a series of heating and cooling elements selectively varied along a vertical axis of the fall chamber and along the walls thereof to provide the plurality of zones and which in conjunction with the one or more vane baffles, further control the flow of the distribution of, and that thereby provide a varied series of modification horizons to, the atomized polymer melt along the vertical axis as the atomized polymer melt falls along the vertical axis;
a first collector to receive the print material particles formed of the atomized polymer melt after falling through the plurality of zones; and
a second collector to receive discarded particles not suitable as the print material particles.