发明人：
RIFAUT, JEAN-LUC | EICHLER, JENS | REMHOF, TILO | GOERS, BRIAN D. | SHUKLA, BRIAN A. | KUGEL, ALEXANDER J. | GIVOT, MAIKEN | HARPER, MICHAEL C.
摘要：
An additive layer manufacturing method, preferably using selective laser sintering, for manufacturing a solid article, the method including applying a layer of a powder, the powder including at least one powdered (co)polymer, onto a solid substrate in a processing chamber; fusing the powder layer onto the solid substrate; subsequently depositing successive layers of the powder, wherein each successive layer is selectively fused prior to deposition of the subsequent layer of powder so as to form the article. In some embodiments, the powder further includes abrasive particles having a hardness greater than or equal to that of aluminum oxide.
技术问题语段：
The technical problem addressed in this patent is the need for a method to manufacture articles using additive manufacturing methods, such as selective laser sintering, at low temperatures and without the need for high-temperature heating of the powder bed. This is costly and time-consuming, and may not allow for processing of temperature-sensitive polymers. The method described involves depositing a layer of powder onto a substrate and selectively fusing the powder in the desired pattern using energy generated by the manufacturing device. The substrate can be a solid or a layer of powder. The use of a powder with aluminum oxide, silicon carbide, boron carbide, or diamond particles can improve the surface quality of the article.
权利要求：
Claims:
1. A method for additive layer manufacturing in an additive manufacturing device configured for processing a powder, the method comprising:
(i) providing at least one substrate that is not a powder to a container of the additive manufacturing device configured for receiving a powder for processing;
(ii) depositing onto at least a part of the substrate at a desired location at least a first layer of a first powder comprising a first plurality of particles including at least a first (co)polymer;
(iii) fusing, by applying energy generated by at least one energy source of the additive manufacturing device, the first (co)polymer onto at least the part of the substrate at the desired location, thereby forming a first fused (co)polymer layer, and
optionally sequentially repeating steps (i)-(iii),
wherein the substrate has a surface adapted for receiving the first layer of the first powder, and wherein at least the surface of the substrate is made of a material different than the first (co)polymer, optionally wherein the method comprises selective laser sintering.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the container for receiving the powder, the substrate, or the first layer of the first powder is at a temperature below 75°C prior to step (iii), optionally wherein the temperature is from about 15 to 30°C.
3. The method of claim 1, further comprising;
(iv) depositing at a desired location at least one layer of a second powder comprising a second plurality of particles including at least a second (co)polymer onto at least a part of the first fused (co)polymer layer from step (iii),
(v) fusing the second (co)polymer onto at least a part of the first fused (co)polymer layer generated in step (iii) by applying energy generated from at least one energy source of the additive manufacturing device to the desired location, wherein the second powder is the same as the first powder; and
(vi) sequentially repeating steps (iv) and (v) to create an article.
4. The method of claim 1, further comprising
(iv) depositing at least one layer of a second powder comprising a second plurality of particles including at least a second (co)polymer onto at least a part of first fused (co)polymer layer from step (iii),
(v) fusing the second (co)polymer onto at least a part of the first fused (co)polymer layer generated in step (iii) by applying energy generated from at least one energy source of the additive manufacturing device to that location; wherein the second powder is different from the first powder, optionally wherein the second (co)polymer is different from the first (co)polymer; and
(vi) sequentially repeating steps (iv) and (v) to create an article.
5. The method of claim 4, wherein at least one of the first (co)polymer and the second (co)polymer is selected from the group consisting of polyamides, polypropylene s and combinations thereof.
6 The method of claim 4, wherein at least one of the first powder and the second powder further comprises inorganic particles comprising one or more aluminum oxide, one or more silicon carbide, one or more boron carbide, one or more boron nitride, one or more diamonds and combinations thereof.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein the energy source comprises a laser configured to scan an emitted laser beam over the deposited layer of first powder at the desired location on the substrate.
8. The method of claim 1, wherein the first layer of the first powder has a thickness that is about the same as an average diameter of the plurality of powder particles.
9. The method of claim 8, wherein the first layer of the first powder has a thickness of 300 pm or less.
10. The method of claim 9, wherein the first plurality of powder particles has a diameter of from 3 pm to less than 300 pm.
11. The method of claim 1, wherein the first (co)polymer is selected from the group consisting of thermoplastic (co)polymers, thermoplastic elastomeric (co)polymers, and cross-linkable (co)polymers.
12. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first (co)polymer is a thermoplastic (co)polymer selected from the group consisting of polyurethanes, fluoropolymers and combinations thereof.
13. The method of claim 1, wherein the first (co)polymer is a thermoplastic (co)polymer exhibiting an elongation at break of at least 200%.
14. The method of claim 1, wherein the first (co)polymer is a partially fluorinated thermoplastic fluoropolymer.
15. The method of claim 1, wherein the first (co)polymer is a thermoplastic or cross-linkable (co)polymer including units derived from TFE and HFP monomers, and at least one comonomer selected from vinyl fluoride (VF), vinylidene fluoride (VDF), ethene (E), propene (P), or a combination thereof.
16. The method of claim 1, wherein the surface of the substrate comprises a material selected from metals, organic fibers, inorganic fibers, ceramics, and combinations thereof.
17. The method of claim 1 , wherein the surface of the substrate comprises a plurality of alternately raised areas and lowered areas having at least one longest dimension of from about 1/10 up to about 3 times an average diameter of the first plurality of powder particles.
18. The method of claim 17, wherein the plurality of alternately raised areas comprises a plurality of ridges, and the plurality of lowered areas comprises a plurality of grooves, optionally wherein the first plurality of powder particles includes particles of the first (co)polymer having a diameter of from 3 pm to less than 300 pm.
19. An article produced using the method of claim 1, optionally wherein the article is an abrasive article.
20. An additive manufacturing process using a powder comprising a plurality of particles having a size of from 3 pm to 300 pm, inclusive, the plurality of particles including a first (co)polymer selected from the group consisting of thermoplastic (co)polymers, thermoplastic elastomers, cross-linkable (co)polymers and combinations thereof, and at least one abrasive particulate selected from the group consisting of aluminum oxide, silicon carbide, boron carbide, boron
nitride, diamond and combinations thereof, optionally wherein the additive manufacturing process comprises selective laser sintering.