Covering All Technology and Application Areas of Additive Fabrication Including:
RAPID PROTOTYPING 3D PRINTING RAPID TOOLING RAPID MANUFACTURING

Materials

From Update 59 - 6/9/09 to 9/8/09:

Technische Universitat Wien (Austria) has applied for a patent on photopolymer materials that can be dissolved in an organic solvent. This permits using stereolithography to fabricate molds for parts that may be sensitive to water.

From Update 58 - 3/10/09 to 6/9/09:

The Boeing Company is the assignee for a patent describing a titanium alloy for use in laser sintering. A lower melting point material is used to bond the titanium particles into a preform.
A colloidal suspension in a photopolymer is used make ceramic and metallic parts by stereolithography according to a patent application from Kwang-Leong Choy (UK). The parts made can have fine features, good microstructure and uniformity. Particular emphasis is placed on making cerium oxide rings and the like for use in applications such as fuel cells and glass coatings.

From Update 57 - 12/9/08 to 3/10/09:

REVA Medical, Inc.'s patent describes radio-opaque bio-resorbable polymers. The materials are said to be capable of being made in forms suitable for stereolithography, laser sintering and other additive technologies. The polymers are inherently radio-opaque requiring no fillers, and are useful for such applications as locating stents and other invasive devices.
EOS GmbH (Germany) has had a patent application published that describes stainless steel powders for use in laser sintering that can be post-hardened.

From Update 55 - 6/10/08 to 9/10/08:

EOS GmbH and Toyota Motorsport GmbH (both of Germany) are co-assignees for a patent application describing a plastic laser sintering material. PEEK or carbon fibers are contained within spherical particles which allows for uniform depositing and good powder flow characteristics.

From Update 54 - 3/4/08 to 6/10/08:

Desktop Factory Inc. is the probable assignee for a patent application from Bedal and Schmidt. Aluminum filler is said to increase the speed of sintering the thermoplastic base material by increasing thermal conductivity. Additives may include light absorbers, flow agents and other materials. The material is claimed to offer low curl and good mechanical properties.
Z Corporation has applied for a patent on a material system that uses a peroxide cure with an acrylate binder to form parts having high strength without subsequent infiltration.

From Update 52 - 9/4/07 to 12/4/07:

Toyota Motorsport GmbH and EOS GmbH (both of Germany) are co-assignees for a patent application concerning laser sintering materials with improved properties. Spherical plastic powders incorporate reinforcing fibers while retaining good flow characteristics.
Timothy Moore et al (Australia) describe biodegradable polyurethane and polyurethane ureas suitable for use in fused deposition modeling (FDM) in their patent application. The materials can be used for tissue engineering and repair.

From Update 51 - 6/6/07 to 9/4/07:

Degussa AG (Germany) has described a process which can convert a wide range of irregularly-shaped powder particles to a spherical shape which is preferable in SLS/SLM applications. Materials are mechanically kneaded with various sugar-based materials which are subsequently leached away. See Fig. 7.

From Update 49 - 12/5/06 to 3/6/07:

A process for coating plastic or other non-conductive parts with a metal layer is described in a patent application this quarter. It's said to improve corrosion resistance, wear and strength, and may offer a competitive alternative to the commercially-available RepliForm process.
DSM BV (Netherlands) is the assignee for a patent application material for making colored SLA parts. It offers attractive appearance and the added advantages of being able to monitor building progress and accuracy in removing uncured resin.

From Update 48 - 9/5/06 to 12/5/06:

A new material approach describes a way to get around inaccuracy problems caused by binder shrinkage in three dimensional printing. Very small glass particles are adhered to the surface of the main build material particles. As the binder cures, the glass particles act as tiny spacers to maintain the position of the build material particles in the matrix. See Fig. 2.