US Patent 11167353 Homogeneous suction during additive manufacturing

A production device comprises a main housing, an optical system that provides a beam for the irradiation of powder in a building platform area of a working surface for producing a component layer by layer, and a shielding gas system for providing a two-dimensional stream of shielding gas. The shielding gas system has at least one outlet opening structure and a suction-removal opening structure on opposite sides of the main housing, and the two-dimensional stream of shielding gas flows over the working surface between the opposite sides. The shielding gas system also has at least one secondary outlet opening for the flowing in of gas in the direction of the two-dimensional stream of shielding gas, which is designed for the forming of at least one secondary stream of shielding gas, which plays a part in determining the flow profile of the two-dimensional stream of shielding gas.