The piFLOWam is a small vacuum conveyor designed based on requirements from OEMs within the 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 that 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 other 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 ideal 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 piFLOWam is made of stainless steel and can withstand a material temperature of up to 140°F. The conveyor unit weighs 33 lb and reaches a maximum feed pressure of 101.5 psi.

Benefits for customers include:

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

Target applications include:

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

Piab USA Inc., Hingham, MA 800-321-7422 www.piab.com