权利要求：
What is claimed is:
1. A method comprising manufacturing a kernel that comprises a quantity of a phase-change material, said kernel having a contact surface, said contact surface having a profile, heating said thermoplastic past a softening temperature thereof, said softening temperature being greater than a melting temperature of said phase-change material, pressing said thermoplastic onto said contact surface of said kernel, and allowing said thermoplastic to cool to below said softening temperature, whereby said thermoplastic assumes a profile that depends, at least in part, on said profile of said kernel’s contact surface, and separating said kernel from said thermoplastic.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein said phase-change material is a first phasechange material and wherein manufacturing said kernel comprises using an additive manufacturing machine to form an object, said object comprising a plurality of layers, among which is a first layer that comprises said first phase-change material and a second phase-change material, said first phase-change material being adjacent to said second phase-change material within said first layer, and after having formed said object, exposing said object to a temperature that is between a melting point of said first phase-change material and a melting point of said second phase-change material, thereby melting said second phase-change material and leaving behind said kernel.
3. The method of claim 1 or claim 2, wherein said first phase-change material comprises a first wax and said second phase-change material comprises a second wax.
The method of claim 1, wherein said phase-change material is a first phasechange material and wherein manufacturing said kernel comprises printing a composite layer that includes said first phase-change material and a second phase-change material, said first and second phase-change materials having different melting temperatures, and wherein printing said composite layer comprises depositing said first phase-change material, depositing said second phase-change material, and depositing more of said first phase-change material after having deposited said second phase-change material. The method of any of claims 1 through 4, further comprising, prior to pressing said thermoplastic onto said contact surface, depositing a release layer onto said contact surface, wherein said release layer has a heat capacity that is sufficient to cause a temperature of said release layer to be below said melting temperature of said phase-change material upon completion of said step of allowing said thermoplastic to cool. The method of any of claims 1 through 4, further comprising spraying water onto said contact surface and pressing said thermoplastic onto said contact surface after having sprayed said water. The method of any of claims 1 through 4, further comprising selecting said phase-change material to include a blooming agent that forms a slippery surface in response to exposure to a temperature of said thermoplastic when said thermoplastic is pressed onto said contact surface. The method of any of claims 1 through 4, wherein said phase-change material is a first phase-change material and said kernel comprises a residual coating of a second phase-change material having a melting temperature below that of said first phase-change material, wherein said second phase-change material includes a blooming agent that forms a slippery surface in response to exposure to a temperature of said thermoplastic when said thermoplastic is pressed onto said contact surface. The method of any of claims 1 to 8, further comprising, prior to pressing said thermoplastic onto said contact surface, depositing a photopolymer layer onto
said contact surface and curing said photopolymer layer, wherein said photopolymer layer assumes said profile of said contact surface. The method of any of claims 1 to 8, wherein manufacturing said kernel comprises causing said contact surface to have a profile that has been selected to be transformed into another profile as a result of exposure of said contact surface to said thermoplastic while said thermoplastic is being allowed to cool below said softening temperature. The method of any of claims 1 to 8, wherein manufacturing said kernel comprises causing said profile of said contact surface to be a sum of a matching component and a perturbation component, wherein said perturbation component is selected to melt away in response to localized heating caused by exposure to said thermoplastic while allowing said thermoplastic to cool below said softening temperature, thereby leaving behind said matching component. The method of any of claims 1 to 11, wherein said phase-change material is a first phase-change material, wherein manufacturing said kernel comprises jetting said first phase-change material and a second phase-change material to form a composite layer that comprises regions of said first phase-change material adjacent to regions of said second phase-change material, said first and second phase-change materials being jetted at corresponding first and second melting temperatures thereof, wherein said first and second phasechange materials are selected such that said melting temperatures being separated by a temperature gap that is maximized subject to a constraint, wherein said constraint is that said temperature gap is sufficiently narrow to avoid interfering with solidification of said first and second phase-change materials in said composite layer. The method of any of claims 1 to 12, wherein said kernel is a first kernel, wherein said method further comprises, after having separated said kernel from said thermoplastic, melting said first kernel and using said phase-change material, which was used to make said first kernel, to manufacture a second kernel.
The method of any of claims 1 to 12, wherein said kernel is a first kernel and wherein said method further comprises manufacturing a second kernel that is made of said quantity of phase-change material. The method of any of claims 1 to 14, wherein said softening temperature is a glass-transition temperature. The method of any of claims 1 to 14, wherein said phase-change material comprises a wax. The method of any of claims 1 to 14, wherein said phase-change material comprises p-toluene sulfonamide or o-toluene sulfonamide. The method of any of claims 1 to 14, wherein said phase-change material is a material that is partially crystalline and partially amorphous and wherein said material is more crystalline than amorphous. The method of any of claims 1 to 14, wherein said phase change material comprises a crystalline material. The method of claims 1 to 19, wherein manufacturing said kernel comprises using an additive manufacturing machine, forming a multi-layer object on a layer-by-layer basis, wherein forming said multi-layer object comprises receiving a feedback signal and controlling deposition of said phase-change material based at least in part on said feedback signal.