Claims
- 1. A method of producing a part, comprising the steps of:
- depositing a layer of a powder onto a target surface, said powder comprising particles of a first material coated with a second material, said second material having a lower softening temperature than said first material;
- irradiating a selected portion of said powder corresponding to a cross-section of the part with a directed energy beam, so that the second material in said selected portion bonds particles of said first material;
- repeating said depositing and irradiating steps for a plurality of layers so that bonded portions of adjacent layers bond to one another to form a mass;
- removing unbonded portions of the powder to yield the mass; and
- heating the mass after said removing step.
- 2. The method of claim 1, wherein said second material is driven off in said heating step;
- and wherein said heating step fuses particles of said first material to one another.
- 3. The method of claim 2, wherein said second material comprises a polymer of the PMMA type.
- 4. The method of claim 1, wherein said first and second materials interact in said heating step.
- 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the thermal conductivity of said first material is substantially greater than that of said second material.
- 6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:
- controlling the temperature of bonded and unbonded powder at the target surface.
- 7. The method of claim 6, wherein said controlling step comprises:
- heating the powder at the target surface.
- 8. The method of claim 1, wherein said first and second materials have different absorptivity characteristics;
- and wherein the wavelength of the directed energy beam is selected so as to be more highly absorbed by said second material than by said first material.
- 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the second material in said selected portions is sintered during said irradiating step in such a manner as to bond particles of said first material.
- 10. A method of producing a part, comprising the steps of:
- depositing a layer of a powder onto a target surface, said powder comprising a first material and a second material, said second material having a lower softening temperature than said first material;
- irradiating a selected portion of said powder corresponding to a cross-section of the part with a directed energy beam, so that the second material in said selected portion bonds particles of said first material;
- during said irradiating step, exposing said powder to a gas phase to promote infiltration of the second material within particles of the first material;
- repeating said depositing, irradiating and exposing steps for a plurality of layers so that bonded portions of adjacent layers fuse to one another to form a mass; and
- removing unbonded portions of the powder to yield the mass.
- 11. The method of claim 10, wherein said gas phase is inert.
- 12. The method of claim 10, wherein said gas phase is active.
- 13. The method of claim 10, wherein said first material is copper and said second material is tin.
- 14. The method of claim 10, wherein said first material is tungsten carbide and said second material is cobalt.
- 15. The method of claim 10, wherein the second material at the selected portion of the powder in said irradiating step is sintered in such a manner as to bond particles of said first material.
- 16. A method of producing a part, comprising the steps of:
- depositing a layer of a powder onto a target surface, said powder comprising a first material and a second material, said second material being a metal and having a lower softening temperature than said first material;
- irradiating a selected portion of said powder corresponding to a cross-section of the part with a directed energy beam, so that the second material in said selected portion bonds particles of said first material;
- repeating said depositing and irradiating steps for a plurality of layers so hat bonded portions of adjacent layers fuse to one another to form a mass; and
- removing unbonded portions of the powder to yield the mass.
- 17. The method of claim 16, further comprising:
- heating the mass after said removing step so that the second material infiltrates the first material within the mass.
- 18. The method of claim 17, wherein said first material is copper and said second material is tin.
- 19. The method of claim 16, wherein the second material in said selected portion of said powder is sintered in said irradiating step in such a manner as to bond particles of said first material.
Parent Case Info
The present application is a continuation of copending application Ser. No. 814,715, filed Dec. 30, 1991, now abandoned, which is a continuation of copending application 559,338, filed Jul. 30, 1990, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,076,869, issued Dec. 31, 1991, which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 402,694 filed Sep. 5, 1989, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,944,817 issued Jul. 3, 1990, which is a continuation-in-part of Ser. No. 06/920,580, filed Oct. 17, 1986, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,863,538.
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Continuations (3)
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Number |
Date |
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Parent |
814715 |
Dec 1991 |
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Parent |
559338 |
Jul 1990 |
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Parent |
402694 |
Sep 1989 |
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Continuation in Parts (1)
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Number |
Date |
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Parent |
920580 |
Oct 1986 |
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