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Engineering-grade consumable materials for electrophotography-based additive manufacturing system

  • US 10,061,221 B2
  • Filed: 11/29/2016
  • Issued: 08/28/2018
  • Est. Priority Date: 07/17/2013
  • Status: Active Grant
First Claim
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1. A method for printing a three-dimensional part with an electrophotography-based additive manufacturing system having an electrophotography engine, a transfer medium, and a layer transfusion assembly, the method comprising:

  • providing a part material to the electrophotography-based additive manufacturing system, the part material compositionally comprising a charge control agent, and a thermoplastic material having a heat deflection temperature ranging from about 100°

    C. to about 150°

    C., wherein the thermoplastic material comprises polycarpolactum (PA6), polyhexamethyleneadipamide (PA6,6), polyhexamethylenenonamide (PA6,9), polyhexamethylenesebacamide (PA6,10), polyamide 6/12 (PA6,12), polyenantholactum (PA7), polyundecanolactum (PA11), polylaurolactam (PA12), or mixtures thereof and has a powder form having a D90/D50 particle size distribution and a D50/D10 particle size distribution each ranging from about 1.00 to about 1.40, and wherein the D90/D50 particle size distribution and the D50/D10 particle size distribution are within about 10% of each other;

    triboelectrically charging the part material to a Q/M ratio having a negative charge or a positive charge, and a magnitude ranging from about 5 micro-Coulombs/gram to about 50 micro-Coulombs/gram;

    developing layers of the three-dimensional part from the charged part material with the electrophotography engine;

    electrostatically attracting the developed layers from the electrophotography engine to the transfer medium;

    moving the attracted layers to the layer transfusion assembly with the transfer medium; and

    transfusing the moved layers to previously-printed layers of the three-dimensional part with the layer transfusion assembly.

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