US 11,648,706 B2 · Selective sinter-based fabrication of fully dense complexing shaped parts

Abstract

The invention relates to a process for fabricating complex mechanical shapes from metal or ceramic, and in particular to fabricating complex mechanical shapes using a pressure-assisted sintering technique to address problems relating to variations in specimen thickness and tooling, or densification gradients, by 3-D printing of a sacrificial, self-destructing powder mold is created using e.g. alumina and swellable binders such as polysaccharides. The binder-free sintering powder that forms the manufactured item is injected into the mold, and high pressure is applied. The powder assembly can then be sintered by any pressure assisted technique to full densification and the self-destructing mold allows the release of the fully densified complex manufactured item.

Claims14

Dependent claims

A process for producing a sintered powder manufactured item, comprising the steps:

STEP 1—preparing a sacrificial powder mold of a manufactured item, the sacrificial powder mold made using 3D printing and the sacrificial powder of the sacrificial powder mold consisting of a high-temperature sintering powder and a swellable binder to create a self-destructible sacrificial powder mold when sintered;
STEP 2—loading a powder sintering material into the sacrificial powder mold to create a powder-mold assembly, wherein the powder sintering material is substantially free of binder;
STEP 3—applying isostatic pressure to the powder-mold assembly;
STEP 4—sintering of the powder-mold assembly;
and
STEP 5—obtaining a sintered-powder cast manufactured item from the self-destructed sintered sacrificial powder mold.

3 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Selective sinter-based fabrication of fully dense complexing shaped parts

Life of this patent

Selective sinter-based fabrication of fully dense complexing shaped parts

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims14