Monolithic weighing cell with bearings formed by additive manufacturing

A method for producing a monolithically formed force transmission device or at least one monolithically formed functional region thereof, wherein the force transmission device comprises a parallel guide having a movable parallel leg, a fixed parallel leg, a first parallel guiding element, and a second parallel guiding element, wherein the parallel legs and the parallel guiding elements are connected to one another by thin-point flexional bearings, wherein the movable parallel leg is guided by the parallel guiding elements on the fixed parallel leg, and a force transmission lever, arranged on the fixed parallel leg, having a lever bearing, and a first lever arm, wherein the force transmission lever is pivotably mounted on the lever bearing and the first lever arm thereof is connected to the movable parallel leg in a force-transmitting manner, wherein the force-transmitting connection is produced by means of a coupling element having at least one further thin-point flexional bearing, and wherein each of the at least one functional regions comprises a combination of:

• at least one of:
• the first parallel guiding element, the second parallel guiding element, the force transmission lever, and the coupling element, with at least one of the thin-point flexional bearings that is adjoining
• the method comprising the steps of:
• A) providing a blank made of a first material;
• B) producing recesses on the provided blank at least at the points at which a thin-point flexional bearing comes to rest;
• C) filling the produced recesses from step B using a second material;
• D) reworking the blank provided with filled recesses from step C by machine removal of the first and/or second material;
• and
• E) exposing the at least one thin-point flexional bearing at the points of the filled recesses in such a way that the force transmission device or at least the at least one functional region made of the first material is formed, and in such a way that the at least one thin-point flexional bearing of the force transmission device or of the at least one functional region made of the second material is formed.