Water soluble rapid prototyping support and mold material

• US 6,228,923 B1
• Filed: 06/11/1998
• Issued: 05/08/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 04/02/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Advanced Ceramics Research LLC
• Original Assignee: Stratasys Incorporated
• Inventors: Popovich, Dragan, Lombardi, John Lang, Artz, Gregory John
• Primary Examiner(s): Cain, Edward J.
• Assistant Examiner(s): WYROZEBSKI LEE, KATARZYNA I
• Application Number:
  US09/096,100
• Time in Patent Office: 1,062 Days
• Field of Search: 524/425, 524/427, 524/442, 524/495, 524/493
• US Class Current: 524/425
• CPC Class Codes: B33Y 70/00 Materials specially adapted for 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: C08K 3/01 characterized by their specific function
• CPC Class Codes: C08K 3/013 Fillers, pigments or reinforcing additives
• CPC Class Codes: C08K 3/26 Carbonates; Bicarbonates
• CPC Class Codes: C08L 2666/02 Organic macromolecular compounds, natural resins, waxes or and bituminous materials
• CPC Class Codes: C08L 53/00 Compositions of block copolymers containing at least one sequence of a polymer obtained by reactions only involving carbon-to-carbon unsaturated bonds; Compositions of derivatives of such polymers
• CPC Class Codes: C08L 55/02 ABS [Acrylonitrile-Butadiene-Styrene] polymers
• CPC Class Codes: C08L 79/02 Polyamines

Abstract

Formation of polymeric prototype elements is effected by high pressure and high temperature extrusion of selected materials onto a plate as a ribbon of liquefied polymer comprising poly(2-ethyl-2-oxazoline) and a polar polymer is discharged in a programmed pattern.

Claims

1. In a freeform fabrication process for forming a three-dimensional solid object incorporating the step of depositing a thermoplastic composition as a ribbon of liguified material layer by layer in a predetermined pattern onto a substrate, the improvement comprising:

providing as the thermoplastic composition a water-soluble thermoplastic comprising poly(2ethyl-2-oxazoline) and a polar polymer selected from the group consisting of compounds having nitrile functional groups, compounds having ether and hydroxyl functional groups, and mixtures thereof.

2. The freeform fabrication process for forming a three-dimensional solid object as recited in claim 1, wherein the polar polymer is selected from the group consisting of a linear thermoplastic phenoxy oligomer blends and styrene-acrylonitrile copolymers.

3. The freeform fabrication process for forming a three-dimensional solid object as recited in claim 1, wherein the thermoplastic composition further comprises an alcohol plasticizer.

4. The freeform fabrication process for forming a three-dimensional solid object as recited in claim 3, wherein the polar polymer comprises 0.5 to 35 weight percent based upon the total mass of plasticized poly(2-ethyl-2-oxazoline).

5. The freeform fabrication process for forming a three-dimensional solid object as recited in claim 3, wherein the thermoplastic composition further comprises an inert filler.