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US 10,086,467 B2Granted
Additive manufacturing of metallic structures
AssigneeDigital Alloys Incorporated
InventorsPaul Burke, Mateo Pena Doll
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
In various embodiments, a three-dimensional metallic structure is fabricated in layer-by-layer fashion via deposition of discrete metal particles resulting from the passing of an electric current between a metal wire and an electrically conductive base or a previously deposited layer of particles.
Claims25
An apparatus for printing at least a portion of a three-dimensional (3D) object, comprising:
- an electrically conductive base for supporting the 3D object during printing;
- a wire-feeding mechanism for dispensing wire over the electrically conductive base;
- one or more mechanical actuators for controlling a relative position of the electrically conductive base and the wire-feeding mechanism;
- a power supply for applying electrical current through the wire and the electrically conductive base while the wire is in electrical contact with the electrically conductive base or a layer of material of the wire previously dispensed over the electrically conductive base, which electrical current is sufficient to melt a portion of the wire;
- and
- circuitry for (i) controlling the one or more mechanical actuators to adjust the relative position of the electrically conductive base and the wire-feeding mechanism, and (ii) using the power supply to apply electrical current through the wire and the electrically conductive base while the wire is in electrical contact with the electrically conductive base or the layer of material of the wire previously dispensed over the electrically conductive base, to generate heat sufficient to melt the portion of the wire, thereby printing the at least the portion of the 3D object adjacent to the electrically conductive base.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.