
One way of make the feeding to feed the 3D printer in an efficient way is to use a vacuum conveyor. Vacuum is used first to convey plastic, pigments, additives or other material in powder or granules pellets into a hopper. The plastic pellets are then heated and forced under high pressure into a mould cavity. The parts are formed in the mould cavity and in some cases, vacuum is drawn in the cavity to aid the process and give the products better definition. Finally, after the parts have been formed, they are removed from the mould with suction cups and pumps that are usually attached to a robot arm.
Key advantages with Piab vacuum conveyors: