Three-dimensional metallic objects having microstructures

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2019060994-A1
Application number	US-201715692942-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Aug 31, 2017
Priority date	Aug 31, 2017
Publication date	Feb 28, 2019
Grant date	—

Abstract

Devices, systems, and methods are directed at spreading sequential layers of powder across a powder bed and applying energy to each layer to form a three-dimensional object. The powder can include granules including agglomerations of metallic particles to facilitate spreading the metallic particles in each layer. The energy can be directed to the powder to reflow the granules in each layer to bind the metallic particles in the layer to one another and to one or more adjacent layers to form the three-dimensional object. Thus, in general, the agglomeration of the metallic particles in the granules can overcome constraints associated with metallic particles that are of a size ordinarily unsuitable for flowing and/or a size that presents safety risks. By overcoming these constraints, the granules can improve formation of dense finished parts from a powder and can result in formation of unique microstructures in finished parts.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A three-dimensional object comprising:
a plurality of layers, each layer defining a respective two-dimensional pattern; particles dispersed in each layer, the particles including a plurality of different materials; and a binder system including at least one component, the binder system binding the particles in each layer to one another and to one or more adjacent layers, and the three-dimensional object sinterable to form a brown part having microstructures of at least one of the plurality of different materials distributed in a matrix of at least another one of the plurality of different materials.

2 . The three-dimensional object of claim 1 , wherein the different materials of the plurality of different materials are alloyable with one another.

3 . The three-dimensional object of claim 1 , wherein the particles include first metallic particles and second metallic particles, the first metallic particles having an average particle size less than an average particle size of the second metallic particles.

4 . The three-dimensional object of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the plurality of different materials is harder than at least another one of the plurality of different materials.

5 . The three-dimensional object of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the plurality of different materials includes a metal matrix composite.

6 . The three-dimensional object of claim 1 , wherein an alloy formed of the plurality of different materials has a smaller grain structure than an alloy formed of at least one of the plurality of different materials alone.

7 . The three-dimensional object of claim 1 , wherein the different materials are alloyable with one another to form steel.

8 . The three-dimensional object of claim 7 , wherein at least one of the plurality of different materials includes iron.

9 . The three-dimensional object of claim 7 , wherein at least one of the plurality of different materials includes one or more of tungsten carbide, tungsten carbide-cobalt, and molybdenum.

10 . The three-dimensional object of claim 1 , wherein the different materials of the plurality of different materials are unalloyable with one another.

11 . The three-dimensional object of claim 10 , wherein at least one of the plurality of different materials includes tungsten.

12 . The three-dimensional object of claim 10 , wherein at least one of the plurality of different materials includes one or more of molybdenum, and copper.

13 . The three-dimensional object of claim 1 , wherein the at least one component of the binder system includes one or more polymers.

14 . The three-dimensional object of claim 1 , wherein the at least one component of the binder system includes one or more of polyethylene glycol, polyethylene, polylactic acid, polyacrylic acid, and polypropylene.

15 . The three-dimensional object of claim 1 , wherein the at least one component of the binder system is soluble in water.

16 . The three-dimensional object of claim 1 , wherein the at least one component of the binder system is soluble in one or more of hexane, alcohol, and limonene.

17 . The three-dimensional object of claim 1 , wherein the at least one component of the binder system has a melt temperature of greater than about 100° C. and less than a melt temperature of the plurality of different materials.

18 . The three-dimensional object of claim 1 , wherein the at least one component of the binder system includes a first component and a second component, and the first component is different from the second component.

19 . The three-dimensional object of claim 18 , wherein the first component and the second component have different melt temperatures.

20 . The three-dimensional object of claim 1 , wherein a volume percentage of the binder system in the three-dimensional object is about one-third.

Assignees

• Desktop Metal Inc

Inventors

• Bose Animesh
• Myerberg Jonah Samuel

Classifications

• B22F1/102

  Metallic powder coated with organic material · CPC title

• B22F12/86

  Serial processing with multiple devices grouped · CPC title

• B22F1/148

  Agglomerating · CPC title

• B22F10/16

  by embedding the binder within the powder bed · CPC title

• B22F1/065 Primary

  Spherical particles · CPC title