System and method for manufacturing a part

A system for making a part comprising:

• a first hopper to hold a mould-forming material;
• a second hopper to hold a sacrificial material;
• a manufacturing system operable to form a first layer, the first layer including a first quantity of the mould-forming material from the first hopper and a first quantity of the sacrificial material from the second hopper, and to form a second layer on the first layer, the second layer including a second quantity of the mould-forming material from the first hopper and a second quantity of the sacrificial material from the second hopper;
• a removal system operable to remove the sacrificial material from the first and second layers to leave a void with a shape defined by a mould structure formed by the mould-forming material of the first and second layers;
• and
• a filling system operable to fill the void with a part-forming material to form the part defined by the shape of the mould structure, the mould structure being removable from the part to free the part from the mould structure.

A method of making a part comprising:

• holding a mould-forming material in a first hopper;
• holding a part-forming material in a second hopper;
• forming a first layer, the first layer including a first quantity of the mould-forming material from the first hopper and a first quantity of the part-forming material from the second hopper;
• forming a second layer on the first layer, the second layer including a second quantity of the mould-forming material from the first hopper and a second quantity of the part-forming material from the second hopper;
• heating the part-forming material so that the part-forming material melts;
• allowing the part-forming material to cool and solidify to form the part defined by the shape of the mould structure;
• and
• removing the mould structure from the part to free the part from the mould structure.