Patent ID: 8308466

Claim:
Apparatus for producing a three-dimensional object layer by layer using a powdery material which can be solidified by irradiating it with an energy beam, such as an electromagnetic radiation or an electron beam, said apparatus comprising: a working area onto which layers of said powdery material are to be placed; a powder storage unit comprising a base surface adapted for supporting a supply of said powdery material; and a powder distribution member, wherein: the base surface extends along a side of the working area; the distribution member extends in a direction along the base surface and said side of the working area and is arranged to be moveable in a plane above, and substantially parallel to, the base surface and the working area; the distribution member is arranged to be moveable into a supply of said powdery material placed onto the base surface such as to bring about a transfer of a portion of said powdery material from a side of the distribution member facing away from the working area to an opposite side of the distribution member facing the working area, said distribution member further being arranged to be moveable towards and across the working area so as to distribute the portion of said powdery material onto the working area; and at least a part of the base surface comprises a resiliently suspended plate, which is resiliently suspended by at least one spring in vertical direction.