Powder for manufacturing precious metal products by free forming fabrication and products

• US 7,740,683 B2
• Filed: 06/19/2006
• Issued: 06/22/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 09/17/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Particular AB
• Original Assignee: EOS GmbH Electro Optical Systems
• Inventors: Hede, Allan, Thorsson, Lena, Eklund, Björn
• Primary Examiner(s): King; Roy
• Assistant Examiner(s): MAI, NGOCLAN THI
• Application Number:
  US11/474,252
• Publication Number:
  US 20070037002A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,464 Days
• Field of Search: 752/55, 752/47, 219/121.17, 219/121.66
• US Class Current: 75/255
• CPC Class Codes: A44C 27/003 Metallic alloys alloys in general C22C
• CPC Class Codes: B22F 1/09 Mixtures of metallic powders
• CPC Class Codes: B22F 10/28 Powder bed fusion, e.g. selective laser melting [SLM] or electron beam melting [EBM]
• CPC Class Codes: B22F 10/62 by chemical means
• CPC Class Codes: B22F 10/64 by thermal means control of energy beam parameters for post heating B22F10/364
• CPC Class Codes: B22F 10/66 by mechanical means
• CPC Class Codes: B22F 2998/00 Supplementary information concerning processes or compositions relating to powder metallurgy
• CPC Class Codes: B22F 9/082 atomising using a fluid using centrifugal force B22F9/10
• CPC Class Codes: B33Y 70/00 Materials specially adapted for additive manufacturing
• CPC Class Codes: B33Y 80/00 Products made by additive manufacturing
• CPC Class Codes: C22C 1/0466 Alloys based on noble metals
• CPC Class Codes: C22C 5/02 Alloys based on gold
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 10/25 Process efficiency
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/12181 Composite powder [e.g., coated, etc.]

Abstract

The present invention relates to metal powders mixtures which are intended for manufacturing precious metal products which have special designs and complex geometries, also including those which consist of several uninterrupted parts which are indivisibly but flexibly coupled to each other. From the powder mixture jewelry and other objets d'"'"'art are manufactured by making use of free form fabrication (FFF) technique. The invention also comprises jewelry and other ornamental products which are manufactured from the powder material in question using the FFF technique.

Claims

1. Powder for manufacturing a precious metal product that has an appearance which is designed in advance and a precious metal content which is sufficiently high to allow the product to be hallmarked in accordance with existing laws, and which is manufactured by means of free form fabrication (FFF) in a CAD/CAM-controlled process during which the powder is supplied in layers and is caused to bind metallurgically within the regions of each layer, and between these regions, where information stored in the CAD/CAM programming specifies that the product should consist of solid material, said solid material having a total precious metal content of at least 50% by weight and containing at least one component which, during manufacture of the product, is melted down and which, in the melted phase, wets other components included in the powder, and has a powder size, powder form, and other properties which are adjusted to the CAD/CAM-CONTROLLED FFF process, and wherein alloyed within the powder is at least one metallic element having a greater affinity for oxygen than copper and which provides an inbuilt fluxing effect on a melt formed thereof.

2. Powder for manufacturing a precious metal product that has an appearance which is designed in advance and a precious metal content which is sufficiently high to allow the product to be hallmarked in accordance with existing laws, and which is manufactured by means of free form fabrication (FFF) in a CAD/CAM-controlled process during which the powder is supplied in layers and is caused to bind metallurgically within the regions of each layer, and between these regions, where information stored in the CAD/CAM programming specifies that the product should consist of solid material, said solid material having a total precious metal content of at least 50% by weight and containing at least one component which, during manufacture of the product, is melted down and which, in the melted phase, wets other components included in the powder, and has a powder size, powder form, and other properties which are adjusted to the CAD/CAM-CONTROLLED FFF process, wherein the powder comprises a mixture of at least two different solid materials, one of which (the solder material) has a lower melting point which is sufficiently low for the solid material to be completely melted down by the laser beam or electron beam used in the manufacturing process and, in the melted state, wets the solid material having the higher melting point (the basal material), with the solid material having the higher melting point constituting 60-90% by weight of the entire powder quantity, and wherein the basal material contains a powder having a 14-18-carat content of gold.

3. Powder for manufacturing a precious metal product that has an appearance which is designed in advance and a precious metal content which is sufficiently high to allow the product to be hallmarked in accordance with existing laws, and which is manufactured by means of free form fabrication (FFF) in a CAD/CAM-controlled process during which the powder is supplied in layers and is caused to bind metallurgically within the regions of each layer, and between these regions, where information stored in the CAD/CAM programming specifies that the product should consist of solid material, said solid material having a total precious metal content of at least 50% by weight and containing at least one component which, during manufacture of the product, is melted down and which, in the melted phase, wets other components included in the powder, and has a powder size, powder form, and other properties which are adjusted to the CAD/CAM-CONTROLLED FFF process, wherein the powder comprises a mixture of at least two different solid materials, one of which (the solder material) has a lower melting point which is sufficiently low for the solid material to be completely melted down by the laser beam or electron beam used in the manufacturing process and, in the melted state, wets the solid material having the higher melting point (the basal material), with the solid material having the higher melting point constituting 60-90% by weight of the entire powder quantity, and wherein the basal material contains at least 80% silver by weight.

4. Powder for manufacturing a precious metal product that has an appearance which is designed in advance and a precious metal content which is sufficiently high to allow the product to be hallmarked in accordance with existing laws, and which is manufactured by means of free form fabrication (FFF) in a CAD/CAM-controlled process during which the powder is supplied in layers and is caused to bind metallurgically within the regions of each layer, and between these regions, where information stored in the CAD/CAM programming specifies that the product should consist of solid material, said solid material having a total precious metal content of at least 50% by weight and containing at least one component which, during manufacture of the product, is melted down and which, in the melted phase, wets other components included in the powder, and has a powder size, powder form, and other properties which are adjusted to the CAD/CAM-CONTROLLED FFF process, wherein the powder comprises a mixture of at least two different solid materials, one of which (the solder material) has a lower melting point which is sufficiently low for the solid material to be completely melted down by the laser beam or electron beam used in the manufacturing process and, in the melted state, wets the solid material having the higher melting point (the basal material), with the solid material having the higher melting point constituting 60-90% by weight of the entire powder quantity, and wherein the solder material has a total Au content of at least 50% by weight, with preferably at least 75% Au content by weight in the case of 18-carat gold objects and at least 58.5% Au content by weight in the case of 14-carat gold objects, and at least one of the elements selected from the group consisting of Cu, Ag, Zn, Ga, In, Si, Ge, Sn, P and Sb.

5. Powder for manufacturing a precious metal product that has an appearance which is designed in advance and a precious metal content which is sufficiently high to allow the product to be hallmarked in accordance with existing laws, and which is manufactured by means of free form fabrication (FFF) in a CAD/CAM-controlled process during which the powder is supplied in layers and is caused to bind metallurgically within the regions of each layer, and between these regions, where information stored in the CAD/CAM programming specifies that the product should consist of solid material, said solid material having a total precious metal content of at least 50% by weight and containing at least one component which, during manufacture of the product, is melted down and which, in the melted phase, wets other components included in the powder, and has a powder size, powder form, and other properties which are adjusted to the CAD/CAM-CONTROLLED FFF process, wherein the powder comprises a mixture of at least two different solid materials, one of which (the solder material) has a lower melting point which is sufficiently low for the solid material to be completely melted down by the laser beam or electron beam used in the manufacturing process and, in the melted state, wets the solid material having the higher melting point (the basal material), with the solid material having the higher melting point constituting 60-90% by weight of the entire powder quantity, and wherein the solder material contains by weight 75% Au, 0-15% Ag, 0-20% Sn, 0-5% Si, 0-12% Ge and 0-5% P.

6. Powder for manufacturing a precious metal product that has an appearance which is designed in advance and a precious metal content which is sufficiently high to allow the product to be hallmarked in accordance with existing laws, and which is manufactured by means of free form fabrication (FFF) in a CAD/CAM-controlled process during which the powder is supplied in layers and is caused to bind metallurgically within the regions of each layer, and between these regions, where information stored in the CAD/CAM programming specifies that the product should consist of solid material, said solid material having a total precious metal content of at least 50% by weight and containing at least one component which, during manufacture of the product, is melted down and which, in the melted phase, wets other components included in the powder, and has a powder size, powder form, and other properties which are adjusted to the CAD/CAM-CONTROLLED FFF process, wherein the powder comprises a mixture of at least two different solid materials, one of which (the solder material) has a lower melting point which is sufficiently low for the solid material to be completely melted down by the laser beam or electron beam used in the manufacturing process and, in the melted state, wets the solid material having the higher melting point (the basal material), with the solid material having the higher melting point constituting 60-90% by weight of the entire powder quantity, and wherein the solder material contains by weight 75% Au, 10-15% Cu, 10-15% Sn and 0-5% P.