Composition and method for additive manufacturing of an object

Abstract

Formulations and methods employing these formulation for fabricating an object by additive manufacturing, such as three-dimensional inkjet printing are provided. The formulations comprise at least 50 weight percents of hydrophilic curable materials, and upon curing, provide a material that is characterized by water absorbance of at least 5%, and by high HDT and impact resistance values. Objects containing cured material made of these formulations are also provided.

Description

RELATED APPLICATION[0001]This application claims the benefit of priority from U.S. Application No. 61 / 937,773, filed on Feb. 10, 2014, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein.FIELD AND BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]The present invention, in some embodiments thereof, relates to Additive Manufacturing (AM) of an object, and, more particularly, but not exclusively, to a composition and method for additive manufacturing of an object which exhibits desirable mechanical properties.[0003]Additive manufacturing is generally a process in which a three-dimensional (3D) object is manufactured utilizing a computer model of the objects. Such a process is used in various fields, such as design related fields for purposes of visualization, demonstration and mechanical prototyping, as well as for rapid manufacturing (RM).[0004]The basic operation of any AM system consists of slicing a three-dimensional computer model into thin cross sections, trans...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0022]While rigid objects, or parts thereof, fabricated by AM, should desirably exhibit good durability and stability, a cured modeling material should feature both high HDT and high toughness, i.e., impact resistance. Yet, a trade-off exists between HDT and toughness, since materials that exhibit high HDT typically exhibit low impact resistance, and materials exhibiting high impact resistance typically exhibit low HDT.

[0023]The present inventors have now uncovered that a modeling material formulation, which, when cured, is characterized by high water absorbance, also presents an unprecedented combination of high impact resistance (toughness) and high thermal resistance (HDT). The present inventors have therefore designed and practiced methodologies for fabricating objects by AM, while utilizing modeling material formulations that include hydrophilic materials which impart to the formulation, when cured, a relatively high capability to absorb water.

[0024]The modeling formulation presented herein comprises one or more hydrophilic mono-functional materials(s), optionally in combination with one or more multi-functional hydrophilic material(s), and further optionally in combination with one or more of additional mono- and / or multi-functional materials. Cured modeling materials (e.g., 3D objects or parts thereof) made of such formulations exhibit high toughness and high HDT, contrary to cured materials made of commercially available formulations, which are characterized by lower water absorbance (and lower if not mollified content of hydrophilic curable materials), in which if the cured materials exhibit a similar HDT, the impact resistance is lower, or if the cured materials exhibit similarly high impact resistance, the HDT is lower (see, for example, FIG. 3).

Problems solved by technology

Yet, a trade-off exists between HDT and toughness, since materials that exhibit high HDT typically exhibit low impact resistance, and materials exhibiting high impact resistance typically exhibit low HDT.

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