Methods of coating stereolithographic parts

A method for coating a surface of a stereolithographic part having surface discontinuities between at least some adjacent layers, comprising the following steps:

• applying a liquid, which is curable in response to synergistic stimulation and which is capable of becoming less viscous when heated to a temperature in the range of about 60-120 degrees Centigrade, to substantially coat a surface of the part, the less viscous liquid having an appropriate surface tension;
• heating the coated part at a temperature in said range until the liquid becomes less viscous, flows into at least a portion of the surface discontinuities, and thereafter forms short surface connections across said at least portion of the surface discontinuities through the surface tension of the liquid;
• and
• irradiating the coated part with said synergistic stimulation, at a time after said heating, until the liquid cures to form a permanent coating which becomes a portion of the stereolithographic part.

An improved stereolithographic method for forming a part from a material capable of selective physical transformation upon exposure to prescribed synergistic stimulation including forming successive cross-sectional patterns of the part on a selected surface of the material capable of selective physical transformation, reactively displacing the selected surface and said cross sections as they are formed and building up the part in a step-wise fashion, wherein the part has surface discontinuities between at least some adjacent layers, the improvement comprising the steps of:

• applying a substance to at least a portion of the said at least one surface of said part which is capable of becoming less viscous when heated to a temperature which does not substantially thermally degrade the part, wherein the less viscous substance has an appropriate surface tension;
• and
• heating the substance up to said temperature until the substance flows into at least some of the surface discontinuities and forms a short surface connection over the discontinuities through the surface tension of the less viscous substance;
• and
• solidifying the substance after it forms the short surface connections so that it permanently becomes a portion of the stereolithography part.

In a stereolithographic method for forming a part from a material capable of selective physical transformation upon exposure to prescribed synergistic stimulation including forming successive cross-sectional patterns of the part on a selected surface of the material capable of selective physical transformation, relatively displacing the selected surface and said cross-sections as they are formed and building up the part layer by layer in a step-wise fashion, wherein the part has surface discontinuities between at least some adjacent layers, the improvement comprising the steps of:

• substantially coating at least a portion of the part surface with a substance which is capable of becoming less viscous when heated to a temperature which does not substantially thermally damage the part, the heated substance having an appropriate surface tension;
• heating the coated part to said temperature until said substance flows into the surface discontinuities and forms short surface connections across the discontinuities through the surface tension of the heated substance;
• and
• solidifying the substance after it forms the short surface connections so that it permanently becomes a portion of the stereolithographically produced part.