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50
3D SYSTEMS, INC
.
PN:80-D48 REV A
Loading the feeding piston
Operations described below complement and follow on from the Preparation Assistant "Step 5 : Powder loading" on page
37 .
WARNING: REACTIVE POWDERS
THE MANUFACTURING CHAMBER MUST BE INERT BEFORE POWDER MANIPULATION (O
2
LEVEL 1%
MAXIMUM) .
Before the first use of metal powder, ensure absence of humidity in the powder, which would affect its flow. That is why
sifting and oven drying are strongly recommended .
Implement the following operations :
•
Sieve the fresh powder once,
•
Place the fresh powder into a large tray in order to obtain a thin layer (maximum 4cm),
•
Place the tray in the oven at 70°C for 24 hours, in order to dry the powder out completely . As a good practice, shake
the powder delicately from time to time in order to speed up the process of moisture loss,
•
Sieve the powder again .
WARNING: REACTIVE POWDERS
DO NOT HEAT THE POWDER IN CASE THE OVEN IS NOT INERT . FLAMMABLE POWDERS ARE PROVIDED IN
SEALED INERT PACKAGING FREE OF HUMIDITY .
1 . Start the
Powder loading
cycle on the control panel (see "Step 5 : Powder loading" on page 37) .
The following steps are displayed on the corresponding cycle .
2 . Position the feeding piston by using the corresponding button from the screen control panel . Make sure there is
enough material to complete the job . Multiply the job height by 3 to get the amount of material needed to have a
successful build .
3 . Unlock the front doors of the printer and open them .
4 . Rotate the airlock to OPEN position .
5 . Open the airlock door .
6 . Put the powder can in the airlock (1) .
7 . Close the airlock door .
8 . Only for powders oxidizable materials, purge the airlock for 5 minutes .
9 . Rotate the airlock to "CLOSE" position .
10 . Put on gloves and open glove doors .
11 .
Take the powder can from the airlock, then fill it into the feeding piston (2).
Put half a powder container maximum when filling the feeding
piston .
The amount of powder after filling the feeding piston must not
exceed the height of the horizontal grooves from the feeding piston
liner, to not prevent the implementation of the compacting unit .
1
2