Patent attributes
Disclosed embodiments relate to recoater systems for use with additive manufacturing systems. A recoater assembly may be used to deposit a material layer onto a build surface of an additive manufacturing system. In some instances, the recoater assembly may include a powder entrainment system that trails behind a recoater blade of the recoater assembly relative to a direction of motion of the recoater blade across a build surface of the additive manufacturing system. The powder entrainment system may generate a flow of fluid across a portion of the build surface behind the recoater blade that at least temporarily entrains powder above a threshold height from the build surface to mitigate, or prevent, the formation of defects on the build surface with heights greater than the threshold height.