Method for manufacturing of parts by a deposition technique

• US 6,147,138 A
• Filed: 06/03/1998
• Issued: 11/14/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 06/06/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Exone GMBH (Desktop Metal, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Generis GmbH (Voxeljet AG)
• Inventors: Hochsmann, Rainer, Ederer, Ingo
• Primary Examiner(s): Jagannathan, Vasu
• Assistant Examiner(s): WYROZEBSKI LEE, KATARZYNA I
• Application Number:
  US09/089,444
• Time in Patent Office: 895 Days
• Field of Search: 523/139, 523/149, 264/113, 264/47, 264/134, 164/17, 164/45, 164/527, 164/529, 419/64, 419/65, 427/198, 427/199
• US Class Current: 523/139
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 64/165 using a combination of solid and fluid materials, e.g. a powder selectively bound by a liquid binder, catalyst, inhibitor or energy absorber
• CPC Class Codes: B29K 2105/0014 Catalysts
• CPC Class Codes: B29K 2105/0047 Agents changing thermal characteristics
• CPC Class Codes: B29K 2105/16 Fillers
• CPC Class Codes: B29K 2995/003 Reflective
• CPC Class Codes: B33Y 10/00 Processes of additive manufacturing
• CPC Class Codes: B33Y 70/10 Composites of different types of material, e.g. mixtures of ceramics and polymers or mixtures of metals and biomaterials
• CPC Class Codes: B33Y 80/00 Products made by additive manufacturing

Abstract

A method for the manufacturing of parts, especially molds or cores, by a deposition technique, comprising the steps of: depositing a layer of a pourable composite material containing particles with a binder material coating, into a process area of a defined length and width fitting to the dimensions of a part to be manufactured; applying a moderating agent onto said composite material layer in a selective sub-area of said process area; inducing energy to solidify said selective sub-area, respectively the area of said process area void of said moderating agent; repeating the aforementioned steps; and separating of solidified composite material from non-solidified composite material.

Claims

1. A method for the manufacturing of parts by a deposition technique, comprising the steps of:

(a) depositing a layer of a pourable composite particle material containing binder precoated particles into a process area of a defined length and width fitting to the dimensions of a part to be manufactured, said binder material coating requiring a starting value of specific energy to be induced for binding and solidifying the composite material;

(b) selectively applying a moderating agent onto said composite material layer in a selective sub-area of said process area while keeping a remaining area outside said sub-area free of the moderating agent, thereby selectively modifying the specific energy to be induced in one of said sub-area and said remaining area from said starting value to a discrete different value;

(c) globally inducing energy in said layer of composite material with a level of specific energy between said starting value and said discrete different value, thereby effecting a selective solidification of the composite material of the selected one of said sub-area and said remaining area;

(d) repeating steps (a) to (c); and

(e) separating solidified composite material from non-solidified composite material.

2. A method as set forth in claim 1 wherein Croning Sand is deposited as composite material.

3. A method as set forth in claim 1, wherein said layer of said composite material is being deposited with a thickness between 0.1 and 2 millimeters.

4. A method as set forth in claim 1, wherein the thickness of said layer is being varied from layer to layer.

5. A method as set forth in claim 1, wherein a moderating agent is applied which acts as an inhibiting agent on said solidification.

6. A method as set forth in claim 1, wherein a fraction of the introduced energy is being removed locally.

7. A method as set forth in claim 1, wherein energy is being released by a chemical reaction of said moderating agent.

8. A method as set forth in claim 1, wherein a liquid, is used as moderating agent for application.

9. A method as set forth in claim 1, wherein said energy is induced by heat radiation.

10. A method as set forth in claim 1, wherein said moderating agent is applied by means of an ink jet printing process.

11. Method for manufacturing of a casting mold or a casting core as set forth in claim 1.

12. A method as set forth in claim 1, wherein said specific energy is modified by decreasing and the sub-area is solidified.

13. A method as set forth in claim 1, wherein said specific energy is modified by increasing and said remaining area is solidified.

14. A method as set forth in claim 1, wherein in step (d) a different selective sub-area is used.

15. A method as set forth in claim 4, wherein the thickness is varied depending on the geometrical complexity of the layers to be built.

16. A method as set forth in claim 4, wherein the thickness is varied depending on the amount of change between subsequent layers.

17. A method as set forth in claim 5, wherein a moderating agent is applied which acts as a catalyst.

18. A method as set forth in claim 6, wherein the energy is removed by melting.

19. A method as set forth in claim 6, wherein the energy is removed by evaporating said moderating agent.

20. A method as set forth in claim 8, wherein said liquid is an alcohol.

21. A method as set forth in claim 8, wherein said liquid is an acid.

22. A method as set forth in claim 21, wherein said acid is hydrochloric acid.

23. A method as set forth in claim 10, wherein said ink jet printing process is an ink jet printing process using piezoelectric techniques.

24. A method as set forth in claim 1, wherein said parts are molds.

25. A method as set forth in claim 1, wherein said parts are cores.

26. A method as set forth in claim 11, wherein the specific energy is modified by melting of said moderating agent.

27. A method as set forth in claim 11, wherein the specific energy is modified by chemical reaction of said moderating agent.