Claims
- 1. A selective laser sintering method for producing a heterogenous product in which a model of said heterogenous product is generated using a computer and said model is processed using an electronic processing device to obtain a plurality of cross-sectional layer representations of said model, said method comprising:
positioning an array of delivery nozzles adjacent to a material deposition bed; filling each of said nozzles with at least one of a plurality of different materials, said materials differing in at least one of composition and deposition properties; and directing said nozzles to various positions relative to said deposition bed and disposing said materials upon said deposition bed at said various positions to form each of said plurality of cross-sectional layer representations of said model.
- 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining said various positions by processing said plurality of said cross-sectional layer representations using a control computer.
- 3. The method of claim 1, further comprising laser consolidating said deposited materials to form said heterogeneous product.
- 4. The method of claim 3, further comprising laser micromachining said consolidated heterogeneous product to define various features of said heterogeneous product.
- 5. The method of claim 4, further comprising laser milling said micromachined product to further define said features of said heterogeneous product.
- 6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:
filling said nozzles with said materials using at least one hopper, said filling step comprised of:
disposing said materials within a funnel of said hopper such that said materials pass through an aperture, said materials further passing through an elongated portion of a standpipe connected to said aperture and coming to rest within another portion of said standpipe; and injecting a fluid through an aeration part located proximate said another portion to selectively cause said materials to exit said hopper through a terminal portion.
- 7. The method of claim 6, further comprising introducing vibrational forces to at least one of said nozzles and said hopper.
- 8. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing said array as a sectional array having a size sufficient to cover a pre-selected partial portion of said deposition bed.
- 9. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing said array as a bed length array having a size sufficient to extend across an entire length of said deposition bed.
- 10. The method of claim 1, further comprised of positioning said nozzles in a staggered configuration within said array.
- 11. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of seeding said heterogeneous product with at least one of a drug, a protein, a gene, a virus, and any combination thereof.
- 12. The method of claim 1, wherein said materials are at least one of powders, liquids, particulate suspensions, and pastes.
- 13. The method of claim 1, further comprising varying a shape of a deposition opening of said nozzles to deposit a material line of a desired shape.
- 14. The method of claim 1, further comprising using said selective laser sintering method to produce a heterogeneous biomedical composite implant.
- 15. The method of claim 1, further comprising using said selective laser sintering method to produce at least one of a polymer-polymer composite, a polymer-biofactor composite, a polymer-ceramic composite, a polymer-biofactor-ceramic composite, a polymer-metal biomedical composite, a polymer-metal-ceramic composite, and a polymer-metal-biofactor-ceramic composite.
- 16. The method of claim 1, further comprising using said selective laser sintering method to produce one of either an energy production device, a storage device, a conversion device, or a nano-composite device.
- 17. The method of claim 1, wherein said nozzles further comprise micropipettes.
- 18. A selective laser sintering method for producing a heterogenous product in which a model of said heterogenous product is generated using a computer and said model is processed using an electronic processing device to obtain a plurality of cross-sectional layer representations of said model, said method comprising:
positioning an array of delivery nozzles adjacent to a material deposition bed; filling each of said nozzles with at least one of a plurality of different materials, said materials differing in at least one composition and deposition properties; directing said nozzles to various positions relative to said deposition bed and disposing said materials upon said deposition bed at said various positions to form each of said plurality of cross-sectional layer representations of said model; and consolidating said materials disposed upon said deposition bed to form said heterogeneous product.
- 19. The method of claim 18, wherein said consolidation step is performed using a closed-loop laser spot temperature control system that modulates laser power based on feedback from an in-situ emissivity measuring pyrometer.
- 20. The method of claim 18, further comprising micromachining said materials disposed upon said deposition bed to define various features of said heterogeneous product; and
milling said materials disposed upon said deposition bed to further define said features of said heterogeneous product.
- 21. The method of claim 20, wherein said micromachining and milling steps are performed using a closed loop laser spot temperature control system that modulates laser power based on feedback from an in-situ emissivity measuring pyrometer.
- 22. The method of claim 18, further comprising determining said various positions by processing said plurality of said cross-sectional layer representations using a control computer.
- 23. The method of claim 18, further comprising:
filling said nozzles with said materials using at least one hopper, said filling step comprised of:
disposing said materials within a funnel of said hopper such that said materials pass through an aperture within said funnel, said materials further passing through an elongated portion of a standpipe connected to said aperture and coming to rest within an angled portion of said standpipe; and injecting a fluid through an aeration part located proximate said angled portion to selectively cause said materials to exit said hopper through a terminal portion at a controlled rate.
- 24. The method of claim 18, further comprising introducing vibrational forces to at least one of said nozzles and said hopper.
- 25. The method of claim 18, wherein said materials are at least one of powders, liquids, pastes, and particulate suspensions.
- 26. The method of claim 18, wherein said nozzles further comprise micropipettes.
- 27. A selective laser sintering apparatus for producing a heterogenous product using a computer to generate a model of said heterogenous product and an electronic processing device to obtain a plurality of cross-sectional layer representations of said model, said system comprising:
an array of delivery nozzles; a deposition bed located adjacent said delivery nozzles; and a control device adapted to direct said array of delivery nozzles to different positions relative to said deposition bed and controlling a deposit of materials from said nozzles to said different positions upon said deposition bed.
- 28. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein said different positions are determined by said control device upon processing said plurality of cross-sectional layer representations.
- 29. The apparatus of claim 27, further comprising:
a laser adapted to consolidate said deposited materials to form said plurality of cross-sectional layer representations.
- 30. The apparatus of claim 27, further comprising:
a hopper for filling said nozzles with said materials, said hopper comprised of:
a funnel; a disk bonded within said funnel, said disk having numerous pores, said pores sized to permit passage of gas while restricting passage of said materials and an aperture; and at least one aeration part positioned below said disk.
- 31. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein vibrational forces are introduced to at least one of said nozzles and said hopper.
- 32. The apparatus of claim 30, further comprising:
a standpipe extending from said funnel at a point below said disk, said standpipe comprised of:
a first portion; a second portion extending from said first portion at an angle; a third portion extending from said second portion at an angle; and a second aeration part formed in at least one of said first, second, and third portions.
- 33. The system of claim 27, wherein said array is a sectional array having a size sufficient to cover a pre-selected partial portion of said disposition bed.
- 34. The system of claim 27, wherein said array is a bed length array that spans an entire length of said deposition bed.
- 35. The system of claim 27, wherein said nozzles are positioned in a staggered configuration within said array.
- 36. The system of claim 27, wherein said delivery nozzles are micropipettes.
- 37. The system of claim 27, wherein said laser is modulated using a closed-loop laser spot temperature control system that modulates laser power based on feedback from an in-situ emissivity measuring pyrometer.
- 38. The system of claim 27, wherein said nozzles comprise a filling point and a deposition opening.
- 39. The system of claim 38, wherein a shape of said deposition opening is varied to deposit a material line of a desired shape.
- 40. The system of claim 27, wherein said materials are at least one of powders, liquids, pastes, and particulate suspensions.
- 41. The system of claim 27, wherein said nozzles further comprise micropipettes.
- 42. A device for filing nozzles of a selective laser sintering system with materials, said device comprising:
a funnel having an aperture; a standpipe extending from said funnel and communicating with said aperture; a stop valve disposed along said standpipe; and an aeration portion disposed proximate said stop valve.
- 43. The device of claim 42, wherein said stop valve further comprises a portion of said standpipe angled relative to another portion of said standpipe extending from said funnel.
- 44. The device of claim 43, wherein said portion of said standpipe is angled at about 90° relative to said another position.
- 45. The device of claim 43, wherein said portion further comprise an elbow of said standpipe.
- 46. The device of claim 45, further comprising a terminal portion of said standpipe extending at an angle relative to said elbow portion.
- 47. The device of claim 46, wherein said angle further comprises about a 90° angle.
- 48. The device of claim 42, wherein said funnel further comprises a side wall and a disk connected to said sidewall, said disk including a plurality of pores therein.
- 49. The device of claim 48, wherein said pores are sized to permit gas to pass therethrough while preventing said materials from passing therethrough.
- 50. The device of claim 49, further comprising a second aeration part in communication with said pores.
- 51. The device of claim 42, wherein said materials are at least one of powders, liquids, pastes, and particulate suspensions.
- 52. The device of claim 42, wherein said nozzles further comprise micropipettes.
- 53. The device of claim 42, wherein vibrational forces are introduced to said hopper to assist in movement of said material through said hopper.
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Serial No. 60/329,479 filed Oct. 15, 2001 entitled “Solid Freeform Fabrication of Structurally Engineered Multifunctional Devices.
Provisional Applications (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
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60329479 |
Oct 2001 |
US |