Processing build materials

1 . A build material processing system comprising:

a build volume interface to receive a container including a build volume comprising a plurality of powdered build material layers in which an agent has been selectively applied to define a 3D object;

at least one type of build material removing device;

a controller to:

control the build material removing device to extract a first portion of the powdered build material layers in a first manner;

control the build material removing device to subsequently extract a second portion of the powdered build material layers in a second manner; and

convey the extracted second portion of the powdered build material layers to a reconditioning unit; and

a sensing module to determine a quality level of the second portion of the powdered build material layers,

wherein the controller controls the reconditioning unit to treat the second portion of the powdered build material layers based on the determined quality level.

2 . The build material processing system of claim 1 further comprising the reconditioning unit.

3 . The build material processing system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one type of the build material removing device comprises first and second different build material removal devices.

4 . The build material processing system of claim 1 , further comprising one or more ducts with at least one of a fan or a pump to convey the second portion of the powdered build material layers to the reconditioning unit.

5 . The build material processing system of claim 1 , further comprising a mixer to combine the treated second portion of the powdered build material layers with at least one of: virgin build material and build material extracted from the first portion of the powdered build material layers.

6 . A method to process additive manufacturing build material, the method comprising:

receiving a build volume comprising a plurality of powdered build material layers in which a binder agent has been selectively applied to define a 3D object;

extracting a first portion of the powdered build material layers in a first manner;

extracting a second portion of the powdered build material layers in a second manner;

determining a quality level of the second portion of the powdered build material layers; and

treating, by a reconditioning unit, the second portion of the powdered build material layers to remove any residual agent components therefrom based on the determined quality level.

7 . The method of claim 6 , further comprising combining the reconditioned second portion of the powdered build material layers with at least one of virgin build material and the first portion of the powdered build material layers.

8 . The method of claim 6 , wherein:

extraction of the first portion of the powdered build material layers in the first manner is to remove portions of the powdered build material layers that are located further away from the 3D object; and

extraction of the second portion of the powdered build material layers in the second manner is to remove portions of the powdered build material layers that are located in neighboring portions of the 3D object.

9 . The method of claim 6 , further comprising:

receiving an input indicative of the quality level of the second portion of the powdered build material layers; and

treating, by the reconditioning unit, the second portion of the powdered build material layers based on the quality level.

10 . The method of claim 6 , further comprising extracting the first and second portions of the powdered build material layers through different build material removal processes.

11 . The method of claim 6 , wherein reconditioning the second portion of the powdered build material layers includes raising a temperature of the second portion of the powdered build material layers to a temperature ranging from 220° C. to 260° C. during a time from a range of 7 to 9 hours.

12 . The method of claim 6 , further comprising:

determining a surface tension value of the second portion of the powdered build material layers;

if the surface tension value is above a first threshold, raising a temperature of the second portion of the powdered build material layers to a temperature ranging from 220° C. to 260° C. during a time from a range of 7 to 9 hours; and

if the surface tension value is below the first threshold, raising the temperature of the second portion of the powdered build material layers to a temperature ranging from 260° C. to 300° C. during a time from a range of 22 to 26 hours.

13 . The method of claim 12 , further comprising:

determining that the surface tension value is above a second threshold higher than the first threshold; and

directly sending the second portion of the powdered build material layers to a mixer.

14 . The build material processing system of claim 1 , wherein the build material processing system is part of a 3D printer.

15 . The build material processing system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one type of build material removing device includes at least one from a list comprising: a vibrating mechanism, a blowing device, a suction device, a brush, an acoustic resonator, and a magnet.

16 . The build material processing system of claim 15 , wherein the build material removing device is configured to remove at least a part of the plurality of powdered build material layers from the container.

17 . The build material processing system of claim 1 , wherein the reconditioning unit includes either or both of a heater and a set of conduits or hoses.

18 . The build material processing system of claim 17 , wherein the reconditioning unit is configured to treat build material to remove any residual agents or agent components therefrom.