Methods and apparatuses for freeform additive manufacturing of engineering polymers

Abstract

A polymer three-dimensional (3D) printing methodology is disclosed for freeform fabrication of polymeric structures under ambient conditions without the use of printed support structures. The build material can be dissolved in a suitable solvent for 3D printing. The polymer solution can be printed in (e.g., continuously printed using a moving dispensing nozzle) a yield-stress support bath to form an intermediate article. The intermediate article may be liquid or only partially coagulated after being printed into the yield-stress support bath. The yield-stress support bath may be at least partially disposed within a container, and the container may be immersed in a post-treatment coagulation solution to remove some or all of the solvent, causing the build material to fully solidify to form a finished article from the intermediate article.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.