Having served the 3D-printing market with its piFLOW®p vacuum conveyors, Piab now introduces the first vacuum conveyor developed specifically for additive manufacturing - the piFLOW®am.

The piFLOW®am is a small vacuum conveyor designed based on requirements from OEMs within Additive Manufacturing segment. The small and compact design features Piab’s proprietary and highly efficient COAX® vacuum technology as well as a butterfly valve. The butterfly valve is not sensitive to pressure fluctuations and is able to keep a material batch inside without the pump being mounted. It has a standard TC connection which makes it simple to integrate for the customer. The unit is simple to use and is easily integrated with any type or brand of 3D printer, sieve, hopper and another intermediate vessel. The product is controlled by pneumatic or electrical control units.

Piab’s vacuum conveying technology can be used to solve many different challenges related to additive manufacturing. It is a perfect technology for filling a printer with metal powders, reclaiming/cleaning excess material from the printers and postproduction, and filling or emptying metal powders from/to adjacent equipment such as a sieve or a powder container.

The piFLOW®am is made of stainless steel and can withstand a material temperature of up to 140°F. The conveyor unit weighs 33lbs and reaches a maximum feed pressure of 101.5 psi.

Benefits for customers:

• Employee safety and exposure to metal dust
• Low building height
• Handling of high bulk density materials (93.6-499 lb3)
• Low noise and energy consumption
• Easy to clean, operate and maintain

Target applications:

• Reclaiming metal powder from the overflow bin
• Filling printer with metal powder
• Sieve or hopper filling of metal powder
• Reclaim metal powder from printer
• Conveying to and from blender/mixer