Soluble support material for electrophotography-based additive manufacturing

A method for printing a three-dimensional part and a support structure for the three-dimensional part with an electrophotography-based additive manufacturing system, the method comprising:

• providing a support material in powder form to a first electrophotography print engine, the support material comprising a first thermoplastic copolymer and a charge control agent;
• providing a part material in powder form to a second print engine, the part material comprising a second electrophotography thermoplastic copolymer and a charge control agent;
• electrically charging the support material and the part material;
• developing layers of the support structure and the part material;
• stacking and bonding the layers of support material and part material to form the three-dimensional part with the support structure;
• and
• subjecting the three-dimensional part and the support structure to a solvent to remove the support structure from the three-dimensional part where the first thermoplastic copolymer is soluble or dispersible in the solvent and the second copolymer is not soluble or dispersible in the solvent.

A support material comprising:

• a thermoplastic copolymer in powder form that is soluble or dispersible in a solvent;
• a charge control agent constituting from about 0.1% by weight to about 5% by weight of the part material;
• and
• wherein the support material is configured for use in an electrophotography-based additive manufacturing system having a layer transfusion assembly for printing the support material in a layer-by-layer manner in coordination with printing a three-dimensional part.