Layered manufacturing of free-form multi-material micro-components

A method for additive layer manufacturing of objects comprised of a plurality of materials with free-form capability for each material, the method including the steps of:

• providing a flat substrate as a platform, forming a support for building a powder object;
• hydrophobizing selected parts of the flat substrate by applying a hydrophobic solution, forming at least one hydrophobic area;
• spreading a water-based powder suspension comprised of particles with a size less than 5 micrometers (μm) in a powder layer with a thickness less than 50 μm;
• applying a binder to parts of the powder layer that are retained in the powder object;
• applying at least one of a powder suspension or a powder paste as a secondary material to gaps in the powder layer, wherein the gaps are created by a hydrophobic repulsion of the water-based powder suspension;
• repeatedly adding other powder layers, other hydrophobic areas, the binder, and at least one of the secondary materials to build the powder object of a desired shape and size;
• clearing loose powder from the powder object;
• and
• performing thermal treatment to remove the binder from the powder object and to sinter the powder object to a solid body.