Utilization of Partial Sintering to Avoid the Use of Support Structures in the Direct Metal Laser Sintering Additive Manufacturing Processes

A method for making metal products using a Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS) process comprising steps of

• a first step of applying a first layer of powder on a surface;
• a second step of partial sintering (defined in equation (1)) said layer of powder to construct a support structure;
• an option of repeating the first and the second steps for one or more times, at same or different extents of partial sintering, to construct additional layers of partially sintered powder product, whereby said partially sintered powdered product being sturdy enough to act as a support structure to build a product on, as shown in FIG. 4;
• a third step of applying a new layer of powder on the partially sintered structure;
• a fourth step of melting said new layer of powder, and
• repeating the third and the fourth steps to construct the product.

A method for making metal products using a Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS) process comprising steps of:

• a first step of applying a first layer of powder on a surface;
• a second step of partial sintering said layer of powder to construct a support structure;
• a third step of melting the upper portion of said layer of partially sintered powder, as shown in FIG. 5, and
• a fourth step of applying a second layer of powder on the first layer structure;
• a fifth step of melting said second layer of powder, and
• repeating the fourth and the fifth steps to construct the product.