DEVICES AND METHODS FOR THREE-DIMENSIONAL PRINTING

Abstract

This presentation provides systems and methods for forming three-dimensional objects. A method for forming a three-dimensional object may comprise alternatively and sequentially applying a flow comprising a binding substance to an area of ​​a powder layer in a powder bed and generating at least one perimeter of the three-dimensional object in that area. The flow may be applied according to a design of the three-dimensional object model. The at least one perimeter may be generated according to the model design.

Description

DEVICES AND METHODS FOR THREE-DIMENSIONAL PRINTING CROSS REFERENCE

[0001] This application claims priority for EU Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 62 / 370,644, filed on August 3, 2016, EU Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 62 / 446,291, filed on January 13, 2017, and EU Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 62 / 484,059, filed on April 11, 2017, each of which applications is fully incorporated herein by reference. STATEMENT REGARDING THE FEDERALLY SPONSORED INVESTIGATION

[0002] This invention was made with government support under grant No. 1646942 awarded by the National Science Foundation. The government has certain rights in the invention. BACKGROUND

[0003] Three-dimensional printing (3D printing) is a process for producing three-dimensional objects of various shapes. Three-dimensional objects can be formed based on a model design, where the model design is formed through a computer, a drawing, or another object.

[0004] Various materials can be used in three-dimensional printing, including metals, metal alloys, polymers, paper, and ceramics. Three-dimensional printing can efficiently create objects that may be difficult to produce using traditional methods. Layers of a material can be placed adjacent to each other until the complete three-dimensional object is formed according to the model design. SUMMARY

[0005] In one aspect, the present disclosure provides a method for forming a three-dimensional object, comprising: (a) providing a surface comprising a powder bed comprising powder material; (b) applying a first binding agent to a first area of ​​a first powder layer of the powder bed; (c) heating a first subsection of the first area, wherein the first subsection is generated from a design of the three-dimensional object model; (d) depositing a second powder layer adjacent to the first powder layer in the container; (e) applying a second binding agent to a second area of ​​the second powder layer; and (f) heating a second subsection of the second area, wherein the second subsection is generated from the design of the three-dimensional object model. In some embodiments, at least a portion of the second layer is bonded to the first layer.In some forms, the method also includes repeating (d)-(f) at least 10 times. In some forms, the method also includes repeating (d)-(f) at least 100 times. In some forms, the method also includes repeating (d)-(f) at least 200 times. In some forms, the method also includes an initial curing of the three-dimensional object. RQÍV frn / A LnZ / q / Yli - 2a a temperature of at least 70eC for at least 10 minutes.

[0006] In some embodiments, the method further comprises a first curing of the three-dimensional object at a temperature of at least 250°C for at least 10 minutes. In some embodiments, the powder material comprises a polymer, a metal, a metal alloy, a ceramic, or any combination thereof. In some embodiments, the powder material comprises stainless steel powder, bronze powder, bronze alloy powder, gold powder, or any combination thereof. In some embodiments, the powder material comprises particles from 0.2 micrometers to 100 micrometers in size. In some embodiments, the powder material comprises particles from 0.5 micrometers to 2 micrometers in size. In some embodiments, the first layer of powder material has a thickness of at least 0.1 millimeters. In some embodiments, the first layer of powder material has a thickness of at least 0.2 millimeters.In some forms, the first layer of powder material has a thickness of 0.1 millimeters to 100 millimeters.

[0007] In some embodiments, the method further comprises dispersing unbound powder material from the bonded powder material formed from the powder bed. In some embodiments, the dispersion is achieved by removing the unbound powder material from the container. In some embodiments, the method further comprises a second curing of the three-dimensional object at a temperature of at least 500°C for at least 5 minutes. In some embodiments, the second curing is at a temperature of at least 1000°C for at least 5 minutes. In some embodiments, the second curing is at a temperature of at least 1000°C for at least 24 hours. In some embodiments, the second curing comprises the infusion of a metal or metal alloy. In some embodiments, the second curing comprises the infusion of bronze powder, bronze alloy, gold powder, or any combination thereof.

[0008] In some embodiments, the first and second binders are the same binder. In some embodiments, the binder is a liquid. In some embodiments, the binder has a viscosity of less than 500 cP. In some embodiments, the first subsection of the first area is heated using an electromagnetic radiation source or a resistive heating element. In some embodiments, the electromagnetic radiation source is at least a laser. In some embodiments, the first subsection of the first area is less than 99% of the first area. In some embodiments, the first subsection of the first area is less than 90% of the first area. In some embodiments, the binder is applied using an inkjet printhead, an atomizing sprayer, or a nebulizer.In some models, the inkjet printhead, atomizing spray nozzle, or nebulizer has a maximum orifice size of 10 to 1000 microns. In some models, the inkjet printhead, spray nozzle, or nebulizer has the largest orifice size. RQÍV frn / R LnZ / q / Yli -310 to 500 micrometers in size. In some embodiments, the binding substance has a droplet size of 0.1 micrometers to 100 micrometers when applied to the first area of ​​the first layer of powder material. In some embodiments, the binding substance has a droplet size of 1 micrometer to 10 micrometers when applied to the first area of ​​the first layer of powder material.

[0009] In some modalities, the three-dimensional object is formed in less than 1 week. In some modalities, the three-dimensional object is formed in less than 3 days. In some modalities, the three-dimensional object is formed in less than 36 hours. In some modalities, the three-dimensional object has dimensions of less than 10 m by 10 m by 10 m. In some modalities, the three-dimensional object has dimensions of less than 1 m by 1 m by 1 m. In some modalities, the three-dimensional object has dimensions of less than 0.5 m by 0.5 m by 0.5 m. In some modalities, the model design comprises at least 10 parallel cross-sections of the three-dimensional object. In some modalities, the model design comprises at least 100 parallel cross-sections of the three-dimensional object.In some embodiments, when the second bonding substance is applied to the second area, the second bonding substrate extends through the second layer to the first layer. In some embodiments, the heating in (c) or (f) comprises sintering individual particles of the powder material. In some embodiments, the heating in (c) or (f) is without sintering individual particles of the powder material. In some embodiments, where in (b), the first bonding substrate is applied at most to the first area. In some embodiments, where in (e), the second bonding substrate is applied at most to the second area.

[0010] In another aspect, the present disclosure provides a method for forming a three-dimensional object, comprising: (a) providing a surface comprising a powder bed comprising powder material; (b) applying a first binding substance to a first area of ​​a first powder layer of the powder bed, wherein, upon application of the first binding substance, a first perimeter of the first area deviates from at least a corresponding portion of the design of the three-dimensional object model; (c) heating a first subsection of the first area of ​​the first powder layer; (d) depositing a second powder layer adjacent to the first powder layer in the container;(e) applying a second binding substance to a second area of ​​the second powder layer, wherein when applying the second binding substance, a second perimeter of the second area deviates from at least a corresponding portion of the three-dimensional object model design and (f) heating a second subsection of the second area of ​​the second powder layer.

[0011] In some modalities, the first area is larger than the model design RQÍV frn / R LnZ / q / Yli - 4 of the first layer of the three-dimensional object. In some embodiments, the first area is at least 1% larger than the design of the model of the first layer of the three-dimensional object. In some embodiments, the first area is at least 20% larger than the design of the model of the first layer of the three-dimensional object. In some embodiments, a portion of the second layer is bonded to the first layer. In some embodiments, the method further comprises repeating (e)-(g) at least 10 times. In some embodiments, the method further comprises repeating (e)-(g) at least 100 times. In some embodiments, the method further comprises a first curing of the three-dimensional object at a temperature of at least 70°C for at least 10 minutes. In some embodiments, the method further comprises a first curing of the three-dimensional object at a temperature of at least 250°C for at least 20 minutes.

[0012] In some embodiments, the powder material comprises a polymer, a metal, a metal alloy, a ceramic, or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, the powder material comprises particles from 0.2 micrometers to 100 micrometers in size. In some embodiments, the powder material comprises particles from 0.5 to 2 micrometers in size. In some embodiments, the first layer of powder material is less than 10 mm thick. In some embodiments, the first layer of powder material is less than 1 mm thick. In some embodiments, the method further comprises dispersing unbonded powder material from the bonded powder material. In some embodiments, the dispersion is achieved by removing the unbonded powder material from the container. In some embodiments, the method further comprises a second curing of the three-dimensional object at a temperature of at least 500°C for at least 5 minutes.In some embodiments, the method further comprises a second curing of the three-dimensional object at a temperature of at least 1000°C for at least 12 hours. In some embodiments, the second curing comprises the infusion of a metal or metal alloy.

[0013] In some embodiments, the first and second binders are the same binder. In some embodiments, the binder is a liquid. In some embodiments, the binder has a viscosity of less than 100 cP. In some embodiments, the first subsection of the first area is heated using an electromagnetic radiation source or a resistive heating element. In some embodiments, the electromagnetic radiation source is at least a laser. In some embodiments, the first subsection of the first area is smaller than the first area. In some embodiments, the first subsection of the first area is less than 99% of the first area. In some embodiments, the first subsection of the first area is less than 90% of the first area.

[0014] In some embodiments, the binding substance is applied via an inkjet printhead, an atomizing sprayer, or a nebulizer. In some embodiments, the inkjet printhead, sprayer, or nebulizer has the largest orifice dimension. RQÍV frn / R LnZ / q / Yli - 5 from 5 to 1000 micrometers in size. In some embodiments, the inkjet printhead, sprayer, or nebulizer has the largest orifice dimension from 10 to 500 micrometers in size. In some embodiments, the three-dimensional object is formed in a period of time of less than 1 week. In some embodiments, the three-dimensional object is formed in a period of time of less than 3 days. In some embodiments, the three-dimensional object is formed in a period of time of less than 36 hours. In some embodiments, the three-dimensional object has dimensions of less than 1 m by 1 m by 1 m. In some embodiments, the model design comprises at least 10 parallel cross-sections of the three-dimensional object. In some embodiments, the model design comprises at least 100 parallel cross-sections of the three-dimensional object.In some modalities, the first perimeter of the first area deviates from a corresponding portion of the three-dimensional object model design.

[0015] In yet another aspect, the present disclosure provides a method for forming a three-dimensional object, comprising alternatively and sequentially (a) applying a stream comprising a binding substance to an area of ​​a powder layer in a powder bed, wherein the stream is applied according to a design of the three-dimensional object model, and (b) directing an energy beam at most to a portion of the powder layer, wherein the energy beam is directed according to the design of the three-dimensional object model, wherein the stream has a first cross-sectional dimension and the energy beam has a second cross-sectional dimension, wherein the first cross-sectional dimension is larger than the second cross-sectional dimension. In some embodiments, the stream comprises aerosol particles. In some embodiments, the stream is a liquid stream.

[0016] In another aspect, the present disclosure provides a method for forming a three-dimensional object, comprising alternatively and sequentially (a) applying a stream comprising a binding substance to an area of ​​a powder layer in a powder bed, wherein the stream is applied according to a design of the three-dimensional object model, and (b) generating at least one perimeter of the three-dimensional object in the area, wherein at least one perimeter is generated according to the design of the model. In some embodiments, the at least one perimeter is generated mechanically. In some embodiments, the at least one perimeter is generated using an air knife. In some embodiments, the at least one perimeter is generated using a knife. In some embodiments, the at least one perimeter is generated by heating at least a portion of the area. In some embodiments, the at least one perimeter is generated by heating a portion but not the entire area.

[0017] In some modalities, at least one perimeter is generated using a laser. In some modalities, at least one perimeter is generated using a contact cutter. In some modalities, at least one perimeter is generated using a non-contact cutter. RQÍV frn / RI Π7 / Σ1 / Yl· - 6

[0018] In another aspect, the present exposure provides a method for forming a three-dimensional object, comprising: providing a surface comprising a powder bed comprising powder material; applying a first binding substance to a first area of ​​a first layer of powder material of the powder bed; using a first cutter to generate one or more perimeters of the first layer of powder material, wherein the one or more perimeters of the first layer are in accordance with a design of the model of the three-dimensional object; depositing a second layer of powder material adjacent to the first layer of powder material in the container; applying a second binding substance to a second area of ​​a second layer of powder material of the powder bed;use a second cutter to generate one or more perimeters of the second layer of powder material, where the one or more perimeters of the second layer are in accordance with the design of the three-dimensional object model.;

[0019] In some embodiments, the cutting comprises two or more cutting passes. In some embodiments, the cutting comprises three or more cutting passes. In some embodiments, at least a portion of the first perimeter of the first layer is generated by one cutting pass. In some embodiments, at least a portion of the first perimeter of the first layer is generated by two cutting passes. In some embodiments, the generation of one or more perimeters of a layer is performed by a multi-axis machine tool (e.g., 2, 3, 4, or 5 axes). In some embodiments, the first cutter is a contact cutter. In some embodiments, the contact cutter is a knife. In some embodiments, the first cutter is a non-contact cutter. In some embodiments, the non-contact cutter is a laser. In some embodiments, the second cutter is the first cutter.

[0020] In another aspect, the present exposure provides a method for forming a three-dimensional object, comprising: providing a surface comprising a powder bed comprising powder material; applying a first binding substance to a first area of ​​a first layer of powder material of the powder bed; depositing a second layer of powder material adjacent to the first layer of powder material in the container; applying a second binding substance to a second area of ​​a second layer of powder material of the powder bed; and using a cutter to generate one or more perimeters of the first layer and the second layer of powder material, wherein the one or more perimeters of the first layer and the second layer are in accordance with a design of the model of the three-dimensional object.In some embodiments, the generation of one or more perimeters of the first and second layers of powder material is performed in one (or a single) pass. In some embodiments, the generation of one or more perimeters of the first and second layers of powder material is performed in two or more passes. In some embodiments, the generation of one or more perimeters of a layer is performed using a multi-axis machine tool (e.g., 5). RQÍV frn / R LnZ / q / Yli - 7-axis), a Computer Numerical Control (CNC) spindle, a cutting tool drill bit or a blade.

[0021] In some embodiments, the generation of one or more perimeters of a layer is performed using a multi-axis machine tool (e.g., 2, 3, 4, or 5 axes). In some embodiments, the first binding agent is a liquid. In some embodiments, the first binding agent has a droplet size of 0.1 micrometers to 100 micrometers when applied to the first area of ​​the first powder layer. In some embodiments, the method further comprises heating the first area of ​​the first powder layer. In some embodiments, the heating occurs at least 0.1 seconds after the application of the first agent to the first area of ​​the first powder layer.

[0022] In yet another aspect, the present exposure provides a method for forming a three-dimensional object, comprising: providing a surface comprising a powder bed comprising powder material; applying a first binding substance to a first area of ​​a first layer of powder material of the powder bed; depositing a second layer of powder material adjacent to the first layer of powder material in the container; applying a second binding substance to a second area of ​​a second layer of powder material of the powder bed; and using at least one cutter to generate one or more perimeters of the first and second layers of powder material, wherein the perimeter of the first layer is in accordance with and deviates from the pattern design of the first layer of the three-dimensional object.In some embodiments, the perimeter of the first layer of powder material is half that of a layer varying in the design of the first layer of the three-dimensional object. In some embodiments, the first binding agent has a penetration depth into the powder material, and the cutting depth of the first powder layer is not equivalent to the penetration depth of the binding agent into the first layer of powder material.

[0023] In one aspect, the present disclosure provides a system for forming a three-dimensional object, comprising: a powder dispenser that (i) dispenses powder material to form a first layer of powder material as part of a powder bed, and (ii) dispenses powder material to form a second layer of powder material adjacent to the first layer; and at least one cutter that generates one or more perimeters of the first layer of powder material, wherein the perimeter of the first layer is in accordance with and deviates from a design of the first layer pattern of the three-dimensional object. In some embodiments, the perimeter of the first layer of powder material is half of a layer varied from the design of the first layer of the three-dimensional object. In some embodiments, the depth of cut of a powder layer is equivalent to the penetration depth of a binding substance.

[0024] In yet another aspect, the present exposition provides a method for forming a RQÍV frn / RI Π7 / Σ1 / Yl· - 8. A three-dimensional object, comprising: providing a model layout of the three-dimensional object in computer memory; transforming the model layout to include (i) one or more layers, each with a layer thickness (L), and (ii) one or more perimeters, each with a thickness (P), wherein each of the one or more layers corresponds to a defined layer of powder material, and wherein each of the one or more perimeters corresponds to a separately defined individual perimeter on a given layer of the one or more layers, thereby providing a transformed model layout in computer memory; and using the transformed model layout to generate instructions usable for generating the three-dimensional object, said instructions providing for the generation of the one or more layers independently of the generation of one or more perimeters. In some embodiments, the method further comprises using the instructions to generate the three-dimensional object.In some embodiments, L = η * P, where 'n' is a number greater than 1. In some embodiments, P = n * L, where 'n' is a number greater than 1. In some embodiments, the depth of cut of a powder layer is equivalent to the depth of penetration of a binding substance.

[0025] In one aspect, the present disclosure provides a computing system for controlling an apparatus that forms a three-dimensional object, comprising a computer processor, a computer memory, and computer code executable by the computer processor to perform operations comprising: transforming a design of the three-dimensional object model into (i) a plurality of layers each having a layer thickness (L) and (ii) a plurality of perimeters each having a thickness (P), wherein each of the plurality of layers corresponds to a defined layer of powder material, and wherein each of the plurality of perimeters corresponds to an individual perimeter in a given layer of the plurality of layers defined separately from the plurality of perimeters, thereby providing a transformed model design in the computer memory;and create machine instructions to control the apparatus to generate the three-dimensional object based on the transformed model design. In some embodiments, the operations include determining the total depth of cut for a layer equal to the depth of penetration. In some embodiments, the total depth of cut is not equal to the layer thickness. In some embodiments, the depth of penetration is equal to the height of a layer. In some embodiments, the operations include determining a configuration for cutting a layer.

[0026] In some embodiments, determining the configuration comprises evaluating a shape and size of a first layer of the plurality of layers. In some embodiments, determining the configuration comprises evaluating a shape and size of a second layer of the plurality of layers. In some embodiments, determining the configuration comprises evaluating a cutting path, the cutting path overlapping with a first cutting path in the first layer and a second cutting path in the second layer. In some RQÍV frn / R LnZ / q / Yli In nine modalities, determining the configuration involves evaluating a clipped area. In some modalities, the evaluation of the clipped area is based, at least in part, on a boundary offset area, a current layer area, an original layer area, a first layer area, and a second layer area. In some modalities, the operations involve determining a geometric offset of the plurality of layers. In some modalities, determining the geometric offset involves using a statistical scaling algorithm. In some modalities, determining the geometric offset involves using a machine learning algorithm.

[0027] In one aspect, the present exposure provides a non-transient, computer-readable medium comprising machine-executable code that, when executed by one or more processors, implements operations for controlling an apparatus forming a three-dimensional object, comprising the operations: transforming a design of the three-dimensional object model into (i) a plurality of layers, each having a layer thickness (L) and (ii) a plurality of perimeters, each having a thickness (P), wherein each of the plurality of layers corresponds to a defined layer of powder material, and wherein each of the plurality of perimeters corresponds to an individual perimeter in a given layer of the plurality of layers defined separately from the plurality of perimeters, thereby providing a transformed model design in computer memory;and creating machine instructions to control the apparatus to generate the three-dimensional object based on the design of the transformed model. In some embodiments, the operations include determining the total depth of cut for a layer equal to the depth of penetration. In some embodiments, the total depth of cut is not equal to the thickness of the layer. In some embodiments, the depth of penetration is equal to the height of a layer. In some embodiments, the operations include determining the cutting configuration of a layer.

[0028] In some embodiments, determining the configuration comprises evaluating a shape and size of a first layer of the plurality of layers. In some embodiments, determining the configuration comprises evaluating a shape and size of a second layer of the plurality of layers. In some embodiments, determining the configuration comprises evaluating a cutting path, the cutting path being superimposed with a first cutting path in the first layer and a second cutting path in the second layer. In some embodiments, determining the configuration comprises evaluating a trimmed area. In some embodiments, the evaluation of the trimmed area is based on a boundary offset area, a current layer area, an original layer area, an area of ​​the previous layer, and an area of ​​the next layer. In some embodiments, the operations comprise determining a geometric offset of the plurality of layers.In some modalities, determining the geometric compensation involves using a statistical scaling algorithm. In some. RQÍV frn / R LnZ / q / Yl - 10 modalities, the determination of the geometric compensation involves using a machine learning algorithm.

[0029] In one aspect, the present disclosure provides a method for forming a three-dimensional object, comprising: (a) providing a powder bed comprising powder material; (b) applying a first binding agent to a first area of ​​a first powder layer of the powder bed; (c) heating a first subsection of the first area, wherein the first subsection is of the design of the three-dimensional object model; (d) depositing a second powder layer adjacent to the first layer; (e) applying a second binding agent to a second area of ​​the second powder layer; and (f) heating a second subsection of the second area, wherein the second subsection is of the design of the three-dimensional object model. In some embodiments, at least a portion of the second layer is bonded to the first layer. In some embodiments, the method further comprises repeating (d)-(f) at least 10 times.In some embodiments, the method further comprises performing a first curing of the three-dimensional object at a temperature of at least 70°C for at least 10 minutes. In some embodiments, the method further comprises performing a second curing of the three-dimensional object at a temperature of at least 500°C for at least 5 minutes. In some embodiments, the second curing is performed at a temperature of at least 1000°C for at least 5 minutes.

[0030] In some embodiments, the powder material comprises a polymer, a metal, a metal alloy, a ceramic, or any combination thereof. In some embodiments, the powder material comprises stainless steel powder, bronze powder, bronze alloy powder, gold powder, or any combination thereof. In some embodiments, the powder material comprises particles from 0.5 micrometers to 2 micrometers in size. In some embodiments, the first layer is at least 0.1 millimeters thick. In some embodiments, the method further comprises dispersing unbound powder material from the bound powder material formed from the powder bed. In some embodiments, the dispersion is by removing powder material without limit from a container holding the powder bed. In some embodiments, the first binder and the second binder are the same binder.In some models, the binder is a liquid. In some models, the first subsection of the first area is heated using an electromagnetic radiation source or a resistive heating element. In some models, the electromagnetic radiation source is at least a laser. In some models, the first subsection of the first area comprises less than 99% of the first area. In some models, the first binder is applied using an inkjet printhead, an atomizing sprayer, or a nebulizer. In some models, the first binder has a droplet size ranging from 0.1 micrometers to 100 micrometers. RQÍV frn / R LnZ / q / Yli -when applied to the first area of ​​the first layer. In some embodiments, the first binding substance has a droplet size of 1 micrometer to 10 micrometers when applied to the first area of ​​the first layer.

[0031] In some embodiments, the model design comprises at least 10 parallel cross-sections of the three-dimensional object. In some embodiments, upon application of the second bonding substance to the second area, the second bonding substrate extends through the second layer to the first layer. In some embodiments, the heating in (c) or (f) comprises sintering individual particles of the powder material. In some embodiments, the heating in (c) or (f) is without sintering individual particles of the powder material. In some embodiments, in (b), the first bonding substrate is applied to at most the first area.

[0032] In one aspect, the present disclosure provides a method for forming a three-dimensional object, comprising: (a) providing a powder bed comprising powder material; (b) applying a first binding agent to a first area of ​​a first powder layer of the powder bed, wherein, upon application of the first binding agent, a first perimeter of the first area deviates from at least a corresponding portion of a design of the three-dimensional object model; (c) heating a first subsection of the first area of ​​the first layer; (d) depositing a second powder layer adjacent to the first layer; (e) applying a second binding agent to a second area of ​​the second powder layer, wherein, upon application of the second binding agent,(f) heating a second perimeter of the second area deviates from at least a corresponding portion of the three-dimensional object model design; and (f) heating a second subsection of the second area of ​​the second powder layer. In some embodiments, the first area is at least 1% larger than the model design of the first layer of the three-dimensional object. In some embodiments, a portion of the second layer is bonded to the first layer. In some embodiments, the method further comprises repeating (d)-(f) at least 10 times. In some embodiments, the method further comprises first curing the three-dimensional object at a temperature of at least 70°C for at least 10 minutes, and optionally second curing the three-dimensional object at a temperature of at least 500°C for at least 5 minutes. In some embodiments, the powder material comprises a polymer, a metal, a metal alloy, a ceramic,or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, the powdered material comprises particles from 0.2 micrometers to 100 micrometers in size. In some embodiments, the first layer is less than 10 mm thick. In some embodiments, the first and second binders are the same binder.

[0033] In some modalities, the warm-up of the first subsection of the first RQÍV frn / R LnZ / q / Yl - Area 12 is heated using an electromagnetic radiation source or a resistive heating element. In some methods, the first subsection of the first area is smaller than the first area. In some methods, the first subsection of the first area is less than 99% of the first area. In some methods, the binding agent is applied using an inkjet printhead, an atomizing sprayer, or a nebulizer. In some methods, the inkjet printhead, sprayer, or nebulizer has a maximum orifice dimension of 5 to 1000 micrometers. In some methods, the model design comprises at least 10 parallel cross-sections of the three-dimensional object.

[0034] In one aspect, the present disclosure provides a method for forming a three-dimensional object, comprising alternatively and sequentially (a) applying a stream comprising a binding substance to an area of ​​a powder layer in a powder bed, wherein the stream is applied according to a design of the three-dimensional object model, and (b) directing an energy beam at at most a portion of the powder layer, wherein the energy beam is directed according to the design of the three-dimensional object model, wherein the stream has a first cross-sectional dimension and the energy beam has a second cross-sectional dimension, wherein the first cross-sectional dimension is larger than the second cross-sectional dimension. In some embodiments, the stream comprises aerosol particles. In some embodiments, the stream is a liquid stream.In some models, the first cross-sectional dimension is at least 1% larger than the second cross-sectional dimension. In some models, the first cross-sectional dimension is at least 10% larger than the second cross-sectional dimension.

[0035] In one aspect, the present exposure provides a system for forming a three-dimensional object, comprising: a container configured to hold a powder bed; a binder applicator configured to apply a binder to an area of ​​a powder layer in the powder bed; and a power source configured to provide a directed energy beam to, at most, a portion of the powder layer;and one or more computer processors operatively coupled to the binder applicator and the power source, wherein the one or more computer processors are programmed individually or collectively to (a) direct the binder applicator to apply a stream comprising the binder to an area of ​​a powder layer in the powder bed, wherein the stream is applied according to a three-dimensional object model design, and (b) direct the power source to provide the energy beam directed to, at most, a portion of the powder layer, wherein the energy beam is directed according to the three-dimensional object model design, wherein the stream has a first cross-sectional dimension and the energy beam has a RQÍV frn / R LnZ / q / Yli - 13 second cross-sectional dimension, where the first cross-sectional dimension is greater than the second cross-sectional dimension. In some embodiments, the energy source comprises at least one laser.

[0036] In one aspect, the present disclosure provides a method for forming a three-dimensional object, comprising alternatively and sequentially (a) applying a current comprising a binding substance to an area of ​​a powder layer in a powder bed, wherein the current is applied according to a model design of the three-dimensional object, and (b) generating at least one perimeter of the three-dimensional object in the area, wherein the at least one perimeter is in accordance with the model design. In some embodiments, the at least one perimeter is generated mechanically. In some embodiments, the at least one perimeter is generated by heating at least a portion of the area. In some embodiments, the at least one perimeter is generated using a power source providing an energy beam that heats the at least one portion of the area. In some embodiments, the at least one perimeter is generated using a laser.

[0037] In one aspect, the present exposure provides a system for forming a three-dimensional object, comprising: a container configured to hold a powder bed; a binder applicator configured to apply a binder to an area of ​​a powder layer in the powder bed; a perimeter generator configured to generate at least one perimeter of the three-dimensional object in the area;and one or more computer processors operatively coupled to the binder applicator and the perimeter generator, wherein one or more computer processors are programmed individually or collectively to (a) direct the binder application to apply a stream comprising the binder to the area of ​​the powder layer in the powder bed, wherein the stream is applied according to a design of the three-dimensional object model, and (b) direct the perimeter generator to generate at least one perimeter of the three-dimensional object in the area, wherein the at least one perimeter is in accordance with the design of the model.

[0038] In one aspect, the present disclosure provides a method for forming a three-dimensional object, comprising: (a) providing a powder bed comprising powder material; (b) applying a first binding agent to a first area of ​​a first layer of powder material of the powder bed; (c) using a first cutter to generate one or more perimeters of the first layer, wherein the one or more perimeters of the first layer are in accordance with a design of the model of the three-dimensional object in computer memory; (d) depositing a second layer of powder material adjacent to the first layer; (e) applying a second binding agent to a second area of ​​a second layer of powder material of the powder bed; (f) using a second cutter to generate one or more perimeters of the second RQÍV frn / RI Π7 / Σ1 / Yl· - 14 layers of powder material, wherein one or more perimeters of the second layer are shaped according to the design of the three-dimensional object model. In some embodiments, the cutting in (b) comprises two or more cutting passes. In some embodiments, the generation of one or more perimeters of a layer is achieved using a multi-axis machine tool. In some embodiments, the first cutter is a contact cutter. In some embodiments, the first cutter is a non-contact cutter.

[0039] In one aspect, the present disclosure provides a method for forming a three-dimensional object, comprising: (a) providing a powder bed comprising powder material; (b) applying a first binding agent to a first area of ​​a first layer of powder material of the powder bed; (c) depositing a second layer of powder material adjacent to the first layer; (d) applying a second binding agent to a second area of ​​a second layer of powder material of the powder bed; and (e) using a cutter to generate one or more perimeters of the first and second layers of powder material, wherein the one or more perimeters of the first and second layers are located according to a design of the three-dimensional object model in computer memory. In some embodiments, the one or more perimeters of the first and second layers of powder material are generated in a single pass of the cutter.In some embodiments, one or more perimeters of the first and second layers are generated using a multi-axis machine tool, a Computer Numerical Control (CNC) spindle, a cutting tool drill, or a blade. In some embodiments, the method further comprises, in (b), heating the first area of ​​the first layer.

[0040] In one aspect, the present disclosure provides a method for forming a three-dimensional object, comprising: (a) providing a powder bed comprising powder material; (b) applying a first binding substance to a first area of ​​a first layer of powder material of the powder bed; (c) depositing a second layer of powder material adjacent to the first layer; (d) applying a second binding substance to a second area of ​​a second layer of powder material of the powder bed; and (e) using at least one cutter to simultaneously generate one or more perimeters of the first layer and of the second layer of powder material, wherein the one or more perimeters of the first layer deviate from a pattern design of the first layer and / or the one or more perimeters of the second layer deviate from a pattern design of the second layer of the three-dimensional object.

[0041] In some embodiments, one or more perimeters of the first layer are at least half of a layer derived from the design of the first layer model of the three-dimensional object. In some embodiments, one or more perimeters of the first layer are as RQÍV frn / RI Π7 / Z1 / Yl· - 15 maximum half of a varied layer of the model design of the first layer of the three-dimensional object.

[0042] In one aspect, the present disclosure provides a system for forming a three-dimensional object, comprising: a container configured to hold a powder bed; a powder dispenser that (i) dispenses powder material to form a first layer of powder material as part of the powder bed, and (ii) dispenses powder material to form a second layer of powder material adjacent to the first layer; and at least one cutter that simultaneously generates one or more perimeters of the first layer; one or more computer processors operatively coupled to the powder dispenser and at least one cutter, wherein the one or more computer processors are programmed individually or collectively to (i) direct the powder dispenser to the powder material to form the first and second layers, and (ii) direct the at least one cutter to simultaneously generate one or more perimeters of the first and second layers of powder material,where one or more perimeters of the first layer deviate from a design of the first layer model and / or one or more perimeters of the second layer deviate from a design of the second layer model of the three-dimensional object. In some embodiments, the perimeter of the first layer of powder material is half of a layer that varies from the design of the first layer model of the three-dimensional object. In some embodiments, the depth of cut of a powder layer is equivalent to the depth of penetration of a binding substance.

[0043] In one aspect, the present exposure provides a method for forming a three-dimensional object, comprising: (a) providing a model layout of the three-dimensional object in computer memory; (b) transforming the model layout to include (i) one or more layers each with a layer thickness (L) and (ii) one or more perimeters each with a thickness (P), wherein each of the one or more layers corresponds to a defined layer of powder material, and wherein each of the one or more perimeters corresponds to a separately defined individual perimeter on a given layer of the one or more layers, thereby providing a transformed model layout in computer memory; and (c) using the transformed model layout to generate instructions usable for generating the three-dimensional object, said instructions providing for the generation of the one or more layers independently of the generation of one or more perimeters.In some embodiments, the method also includes using instructions to generate the three-dimensional object. In some embodiments, the method also includes determining a configuration to generate one or more perimeters. In some embodiments, determining the configuration includes evaluating a cutting path, overlapping the cutting path with a first cutting path in the first layer and a second cutting path in the second layer.

[0044] In one respect, the present exposition provides a computing system for RQÍV frn / R LnZ / q / Yli - 16controlling an apparatus for forming a three-dimensional object, comprising one or more computer processors, computer memory, and computer code executable individually or collectively by one or more computer processors to implement a method comprising: (a) transforming a design of the three-dimensional object model into (i) a plurality of layers, each with a layer thickness (L) and (ii) a plurality of perimeters, each with a thickness (P), wherein each of the plurality of layers corresponds to a defined layer of powder material, and wherein each of the plurality of perimeters corresponds to an individual perimeter in a given layer of the plurality of layers defined separately from the plurality of perimeters, thereby providing a design of the transformed model in computer memory; and (b) creating machine instructions to control the apparatus for generating the three-dimensional object based on the design of the transformed model.In some methods, the operations involve determining the total depth of cut for a layer equal to the depth of penetration. In some methods, the total depth of cut is not equal to the thickness of the layer. In some methods, the depth of penetration is equal to the height of a layer.

[0045] In one aspect, the present exposure provides a non-transient, computer-readable means comprising machine-executable code that, when executed by one or more processors, implements a method for forming a three-dimensional object, the method comprising: (a) transforming a design of the three-dimensional object model into (i) a plurality of layers, each having a layer thickness (L) and (ii) a plurality of perimeters, each having a thickness (P), wherein each of the plurality of layers corresponds to a defined layer of powder material, and wherein each of the plurality of perimeters corresponds to an individual perimeter on a given layer of the plurality of layers defined separately from the plurality of perimeters, thereby providing a design of the transformed model in computer memory; and (b) creating machine instructions to control the apparatus for generating the three-dimensional object based on the design of the transformed model.In some embodiments, the operations include determining the total depth of cut for a layer equal to the depth of penetration. In some embodiments, the total depth of cut is not equal to the layer thickness. In some embodiments, the depth of penetration is equal to the height of a layer. In some embodiments, the operations include determining the cutting configuration of a layer. In some embodiments, determining the configuration includes evaluating the shape and size of a first layer from a plurality of layers. In some embodiments, determining a geometric offset includes using a statistical scaling algorithm or a machine learning algorithm.

[0046] In one aspect, the present exposure provides a method for forming a three-dimensional object, comprising: (a) providing a powder bed comprising material in RQÍV frn / R LnZ / q / Yli - 17 powder; (b) applying a first binding substance to a first area of ​​a first layer of powder material from the powder bed; (c) using a first perimeter generator to generate one or more perimeters of the first layer, wherein the one or more perimeters of the first layer are in accordance with a design of the three-dimensional object model in computer memory; (d) depositing a second layer of powder material adjacent to the first layer; (e) applying a second binding agent to a second area of ​​a second layer of powder material in the powder bed; and (f) using a second perimeter generator to generate one or more perimeters of the second layer of powder material, wherein the one or more perimeters of the second layer are in accordance with the design of the three-dimensional object model, thereby generating at least a portion of the three-dimensional object. In some embodiments, the first binding agent and / or the second binding agent are applied in such a way that (i) the first binding agent and / or the second binding agent do not combine in the powder bed or (ii) there is no physical alteration of individual particles of the powder material.

[0047] In some embodiments, the first binder and the second binder are the same binder. In some embodiments, the first perimeter generator and the second perimeter generator are the same perimeter generator. In some embodiments, the method further comprises, after (f), heating at least the portion of the three-dimensional object. In some embodiments, the heating is bulk heating of at least the portion of the three-dimensional object, whereby bulk heating comprises sintering individual particles of the powder material in at least the portion of the three-dimensional object. In some embodiments, the first perimeter generator and / or the second perimeter generator is a multi-axis machine tool. In some embodiments, the first or second perimeter generator is a first or second cutter.

[0048] In some embodiments, the first or second cutter is a contact cutter. In some embodiments, the first or second cutter is a non-contact cutter that does not make contact with the powder bed when generating one or more perimeters of the first or second layer, respectively. In some embodiments, the non-contact cutter includes at least one laser. In some embodiments, the first binder and / or the second binder are applied via an inkjet printhead, atomizing sprayer, ultrasonic sprayer, or nebulizer. In some embodiments, in (b), the inkjet printhead, atomizing sprayer, ultrasonic sprayer, or nebulizer is tilted at an angle greater than 0° with respect to an axis perpendicular to the first layer.In some embodiments, the powdered material comprises stainless steel powder, bronze powder, bronze alloy powder, gold powder, or any combination thereof. In some embodiments, the first or second binding agent has a droplet size of 0.1 micrometers to 100 micrometers when applied to the first area. RQÍV frn / RI Π7 / Σ1 / Yl· - 18 layer or the second area of ​​the second layer, respectively. In some embodiments, the first area or the second area is the entirety of an exposed area of ​​the powder bed. In some embodiments, the method further comprises (i) subjecting at least a portion of the first area to heating after (b), or (ii) subjecting at least a portion of the second area to heating after (e).

[0049] In one aspect, the present disclosure provides a method for forming a three-dimensional object, comprising: (a) providing a powder bed comprising powder material; (b) applying a first binding substance to a first area of ​​a first layer of powder material of the powder bed; (c) depositing a second layer of powder material adjacent to the first layer; (d) applying a second binding substance to a second area of ​​a second layer of powder material of the powder bed; and (e) using at least one perimeter generator to generate one or more perimeters of the first and second layers of powder material, wherein the one or more perimeters of the first and second layers are in accordance with a design of the model of the three-dimensional object in computer memory, thereby generating at least a portion of the three-dimensional object.In some embodiments, one or more perimeters of the first and second layers of powder material are generated in a single pass of the cutter. In other embodiments, one or more perimeters of the first and second layers are generated using a multi-axis machine tool, a Computer Numerical Control (CNC) spindle, a cutting tool drill, or a blade.

[0050] In some embodiments, the method further comprises heating the first area of ​​the first layer or the second area of ​​the second layer. In some embodiments, the at least one perimeter generator is a plurality of perimeter generators. In some embodiments, wherein in (e), one or more perimeters of the first layer and of the second layer are generated simultaneously. In some embodiments, wherein in (e), one or more perimeters of the first layer and / or of the second layer deviate from the pattern design. In some embodiments, the first binder and / or the second binder are applied such that (i) the first binder and / or the second binder do not combine in the powder bed or (ii) there is no physical alteration of individual particles of the powder material.

[0051] In some embodiments, the method further comprises (e) heating at least the portion of the three-dimensional object. In some embodiments, the heating is a bulk heating of at least the portion of the three-dimensional object, the bulk heating comprising sintering individual particles of the powder material into the at least the portion of the three-dimensional object. In some embodiments, the first binder and / or the second binder are applied via an inkjet printhead, an atomizing sprayer, an ultrasonic sprayer, or a nebulizer. In some embodiments, the powder material comprises RQÍV frn / R LnZ / q / Yli - 19 particles ranging from 0.5 micrometers to 50 micrometers in size. In some configurations, the first area or the second area is the entire exposed area of ​​the dust bed.

[0052] The additional aspects and advantages of the present exposition will become apparent to those skilled in this technique from the following detailed description, which shows and describes only illustrative variations of the present exposition. As will be understood, the present exposition is capable of other, different variations, and its various details are capable of modification in several obvious aspects, all without departing from the exposition. Consequently, the drawings and description should be considered illustrative and not restrictive in nature. INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE

[0053] All publications and patent applications mentioned in this specification are incorporated herein by reference to the same extent as if each individual publication or patent application were specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0054] The novel features of the invention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. A better understanding of the features and advantages of the present invention will be obtained by reference to the following detailed description, which presents illustrative embodiments in which the principles of the invention are used, and the accompanying drawings (also referred to as “Figure” and “FIG.” herein), of which:

[0055] Figure 1 illustrates a schematic of a flowchart of a three-dimensional printing process;

[0056] Figures 2A-2C schematically illustrate a method for forming a three-dimensional object;

[0057] Figures 3A-3D schematically illustrate a method for forming a three-dimensional object using a layering technique that has a large layer thickness and a thin cut thickness;

[0058] Figures 4A-4D schematically illustrate a method for forming a three-dimensional object using a layering technique that has a large layer thickness and a large cut thickness;

[0059] Figures 5A-5D schematically illustrate a method for forming a three-dimensional object using a layering technique that has a large layer thickness and a combination of thin and large cut thicknesses.

[0060] Figures 6A-6D schematically illustrate a method for forming a three-dimensional object using a layering technique that has a large layer thickness and a large cut thickness using an aligned cut pass; RQÍV frn / R LnZ / q / Yli - 20

[0061] Figures 7A and 7B schematically illustrate a sample configuration for forming a three-dimensional object;

[0062] Figures 8, 9A and 9B schematically illustrate various views of a spraying system that can be used to form a three-dimensional object;

[0063] Figure 10 illustrates a heating system that can be used to cure a layer of a three-dimensional object;

[0064] Figure 11 illustrates a cutting system that can be used to remove excess material during the forming of a three-dimensional object;

[0065] Figure 12 illustrates a cutting strategy that can be used to form a desired 3D object;

[0066] Figure 13 illustrates an alternative cutting strategy to Figure 12 that can be used to form the desired 3D object;

[0067] Figure 14 illustrates a forming strategy that can be used to form a three-dimensional object using a layering technique;

[0068] Figure 15 illustrates a triangulated digital model as a stereolithography (STL) file;

[0069] Figure 16 illustrates the triangle intersections for a given portion of the model in Figure 15;

[0070] Figure 17 illustrates the associated coils for the portions of Figure 16 for clarity;

[0071] Figure 18 illustrates a cutting strategy for the object in Figure 15;

[0072] Figure 19 illustrates an alternative cutting strategy for the object in Figure 15;

[0073] Figure 20 illustrates a specific surface of the object in Figure 15;

[0074] Figure 21 illustrates one way to classify a surface of the desired object to optimize the cutting order;

[0075] Figures 22A-22C illustrate a procedure for portions or layers of a three-dimensional product;

[0076] Figures 23A-23C illustrate an alternative procedure for portions or layers of a three-dimensional product;

[0077] Figures 24A-24C illustrate three different desired printed parts;

[0078] Figure 25 illustrates a desired printed part that can be made with different cutting speeds;

[0079] Figure 26 illustrates a schematic ultrasonic fog generating system;

[0080] Figures 27A-27B illustrate two potential spray patterns that can be used when directing binder material toward a layer of powder material on a powder bed; RQÍV frn / R LnZ / q / Yli - 21

[0081] Figure 28 illustrates an apparatus with a vacuum directly behind it (the spray mask);

[0082] Figure 29 illustrates a spray module with vacuum-assisted spraying;

[0083] Figure 30 illustrates a method where a uniform flow can be achieved;

[0084] Figure 31 illustrates multiple parts that can be formed using the method described herein;

[0085] Figure 32 shows a computer control system that is programmed or otherwise configured to implement the methods provided herein; and

[0086] Figure 33 illustrates a multi-spindle configuration used for a single powder bed. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0087] Although several embodiments of the invention have been shown and described herein, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that such embodiments are provided only by way of example. Numerous variations, changes, and substitutions can occur to those skilled in the art without departing from the invention. It should be understood that various alternatives to the embodiments of the invention described herein may be employed.

[0088] The term “subsection”, as used herein, may refer to an area that is less than 100%, 95%, 90%, 80%, 70%, 60%, 50%, 40%, 30%, 20%, or 10% of the total area.

[0089] The term “layer,” as used herein, refers to a layer of atoms or molecules on a surface, such as a substrate. In some embodiments, a layer includes an epitaxial layer or a plurality of epitaxial layers (or sublayers). A layer generally has a thickness ranging from approximately one monatomic monolayer (ML) to tens of monolayers, hundreds of monolayers, thousands of monolayers, millions of monolayers, billions of monolayers, trillions of monolayers, or more. In one example, a layer is a multilayer structure that is thicker than a monatomic monolayer. Furthermore, a layer may include multiple layers of material.

[0090] The term “perimeter,” as used herein, generally refers to a continuous or discontinuous line that forms the boundary of a given area. The area may be a closed area. The perimeter may be at least a portion of a boundary of the given area. For example, the given area may be an area within a layer of powdered material. The perimeter may be the entire boundary or a portion of the boundary. The perimeter may be part of another perimeter, such as a larger perimeter. The perimeter may be part of a nascent or final three-dimensional product.

[0091] The term “dust,” as used herein, generally refers to a solid containing particles, such as fine particles. Dust may also be called “particulate matter.” A dust may include individual particles with cross-sections AQÍV frn / RI Π7 / Σ1 / Yl· - 22 (e.g., diameters) of at least approximately 5 nanometers (nm), 10 nm, 20 nm, 30 nm, 40 nm, 50 nm, 100 nm, 200 nm, 300 nm, 400 nm, 500 nm, 1 pm, 5 pm, 10 pm, 15 pm, 20 pm, 35 pm, 30 pm, 40 pm, 45 pm, 50 pm, 55 pm, 60 pm, 65 pm, 70 pm, 75 pm, 80 pm or 100 pm. Individual particles may be of various shapes, such as, for example, spherical, oval, cubic, irregularly shaped, or partial shapes or any combination of the same shapes.

[0092] The term “support,” as used herein, generally refers to any workpiece on which a material used to form a 3D object is placed. The 3D object may be formed directly on, directly from, or adjacent to the support. The 3D object may be formed above the support. The support may be a substrate. The support may be arranged in an enclosure (e.g., a chamber). The enclosure may have one or more walls formed from various types of materials, such as elemental metal, metal alloy (e.g., stainless steel), ceramic, or an allotrope of elemental carbon. The enclosure may have various cross-sectional shapes, such as circular, triangular, square, rectangular, or partial shapes, or a combination thereof. The enclosure may be thermally insulated. The enclosure may comprise thermal insulation. The enclosure may provide thermal or environmental insulation.The base may comprise an elemental metal, a metallic alloy, a ceramic, a carbon allotrope, or a polymer. The base may comprise stone, zeolite, clay, or glass. The elemental metal may include iron, molybdenum, tungsten, copper, aluminum, gold, silver, or titanium. A metallic alloy may include steel (e.g., stainless steel). A ceramic material may include alumina. The base may include silicon, germanium, silica, sapphire, zinc oxide, carbon (e.g., graphite, graphene, diamond, amorphous carbon, carbon fiber, carbon nanotube, or fullerene), SiC, AN, GaN, spinel, coated silicon, silicon oxide, silicon carbide oxide, gallium nitride, indium nitride, titanium dioxide, or aluminum nitride. In some cases, the base comprises a susceptor (e.g., a material that can absorb electromagnetic energy and convert it into heat). The base, substrate, and / or enclosure may be fixed or movable.

[0093] The enclosure may be open to air or maintained in a controlled environment. In some examples, the enclosure is under an inert atmosphere, such as an inert gas (e.g., Ar, He, N2, Kr, Xe, H2, CO, CO2, or Ne). The enclosure may be filled with a nonreactive gas.

[0094] Alternatively, the enclosure can be kept under vacuum. The pressure in the chamber can be at least 107 Torr, 10~6 Torr, 105 Torr, 10“4 Torr, 10~3 Torr, 10“2 Torr, 101 Torr, 1 Torr, 10 Torr, 100 Torr, 1 bar, 2 bar, 3 bar, 4 bar, 5 bar, 10 bar, 20 bar, 30 bar, 40 bar, 50 bar, 100 bar, 200 bar, 300 bar, 400 bar, 500 bar, 1000 bar, or more. The pressure in the enclosure can be at least 100 Torr, 200 Torr, 300 Torr, 400 Torr, 500 Torr, 600 Torr, 700 Torr, 720 Torr, 740 Torr, 750 Torr, 760 Torr, 900 Torr, 1000 Torr, 1100 Torr, or 1200 Torr. The pressure in the enclosure can be at most 107 Torr, 106 Torr, 105 Torr, 104 Torr, or 103 Torr. AQÍV frn / AI Π7 / Σ1 / Yl· - 23 10“2 Torr, 10'1 Torr, 1 Torr, 10 Torr, 100 Torr, 200 Torr, 300 Torr, 400 Torr, 500 Torr, 600 Torr, 700 Torr, 720 Torr, 740 Torr, 750 Torr, 760 Torr, 900 Torr, 1000 Torr, 1100 Torr, or 1200 Torr. In some cases, the pressure in the enclosure may be standard atmospheric pressure.

[0095] The term “approximately” when referring to a number or a numerical range generally means that the number or numerical range being referred to is an approximation within experimental variability (or within one statistical experimental error), and therefore the number or numerical range may vary, for example, between 1% and 15% of the stated number or numerical range.

[0096] The term “adjacent” or “adjacent to”, as used herein, generally means 'next to', 'contiguous', 'in contact with', or 'in proximity to'. Adjacent to may refer to a feature, such as a layer, being 'above' or 'below' another feature, such as another layer. A first layer adjacent to a second layer may be in direct contact with the second layer, or there may be one or more intermediate layers between the first and second layers.

[0097] Three-dimensional printing (3D printing) can refer to a process of forming a three-dimensional object. To form a three-dimensional object, multiple layers of a powdered material can be layered sequentially adjacent to each other. The layers of powdered material can be heated, cured, or chemically treated, individually or simultaneously, so that the particles of the powdered material fuse or melt together.

[0098] A pattern design may be used to guide the formation of specific areas or subsections of powder material that are treated with binder, heat, chemicals, or any combination thereof. The pattern design may be a computer-generated design, such as one created using 3D printing software. Layers of powder material may be layered sequentially until the formed object takes the shape of the three-dimensional pattern design. Materials

[0099] A three-dimensional object can be formed on a surface. A powder bed can be applied adjacent to a surface for the formation of a three-dimensional object. The surface can be a flat surface, an irregular surface, a container, a construction box, a box, a table, or any combination thereof.

[00100] In some cases, a container or box may have a heating mechanism integrated into or adjacent to the container or box. The container or box may be heated to an elevated temperature using a method described herein to ensure that individual particles of the powdered material do not agglomerate. In some cases, the powdered materials do not agglomerate before, during, or after the application of a binder to the powdered material. The container or box may be heated to a temperature of at least approximately RQÍV frn / R LnZ / q / Yli - 2425°C, 30°C, 40°C, 50°C, 60°C, 70°C, 80°C, 90°C, 100°C, 110°C, 120°C, 130°C, 140°C, 150°C, 160°C, 170°C, 180°C, 190°C, 200°C, 300°C, 400°C, 500°C, 600°C, 700°C, 800°C, 900°C, 1000°C, or more. In some cases, the container or box can be heated throughout the three-dimensional object forming method to a temperature of 25°C to 500°C, 50°C to 200°C, 70°C to 150°C, or 80°C to 120°C.

[00101] A powder material may be a powder of a polymer, a metal, a metal alloy, a ceramic, a cement, or any combination thereof. A powder material may comprise a solid, a liquid, a gel, or any combination thereof. A powder material may comprise stainless steel, bronze, steel, gold, nickel, nickel steel, aluminum, titanium, carbon fiber, carbon nanotubes, graphene, graphene embedded in plastic, nitinol, water-absorbent plastic, plastic, sand, conductive carbomorph, paper, concrete, food, yarn, or any combination thereof. A powder material may be coated with a coating, such as a plastic coating, an organic material, or any combination thereof. In some cases, the powder material may comprise metallic particles. In some cases, the powder material may comprise gold particles.In some cases, the powder material may include stainless steel particles. The stainless steel particles may include metal injection molded (MIM) grades of stainless steel. The stainless steel particles may be grades 316L, 17-4 PH, 430L, 440C, 31 OS, 420J, or 904L. The stainless steel particles may be MIM grade 17-4 PH. The powder material may include carbon, manganese, phosphorus, sulfur, silicon, chromium, nickel, copper, niobium, or iron.

[00102] In some cases, a powder coating applied to a surface may comprise two or more different materials, wherein these two or more materials react with each other during deposition on the surface, during the application of a binder, during curing, during sintering, or any combination thereof. The two or more materials may be combined before or during the deposition of the powder onto the powder bed. In some cases, a powder coating may comprise stainless steel particles and bronze particles.

[00103] In some cases, a single layer may be heated. Alternatively, multiple layers may be heated simultaneously. Multiple layers of a powdered material may form a green part, where no further layers will be added. In some cases, an entire green part may be heated simultaneously. For example, an entire green part may be heated in an oven.

[00104] The three-dimensional object may have linear shrinkage after heating or sintering. In some cases, an object may have linear shrinkage. RQÍV frn / R LnZ / q / Yli - 25% to at most 50%, 40%, 30%, 20%, 15%, 10%, 5%, 1% or less. In some cases, an object may have a linear shrinkage of approximately 5% to 30%, 10% to 20%, or 15% to 20%. The three-dimensional object may have an elastic strength, or yield strength, of at least 50 megapascals (MPa), 100 MPa, 200 MPa, 300 MPa, 400 MPa, 500 MPa or more. In some cases, a three-dimensional object may vary from the computer model of the three-dimensional object; a finished object may vary in size in one dimension (e.g., length, width, height) from the computer model by at most approximately 10%, 5%, 4%, 3%, 2%, 1%, 0.9%, 0.8%, 0.7%, 0.6%, 0.5%, 0.4%, 0.3%, 0.2%, 0.1% or less.

[00105] A powdered material, as used herein, generally refers to a solid having fine particles. The powder may comprise individual particles, and the particles may be spherical, oval, cubic, irregularly shaped, or partial shapes, or any combination thereof. A powdered material may be characterized by various techniques, including, but not limited to, average flow, powder flow, angle of repose, shunt density, morphology, porosity, laser diffraction, sieve analysis, moisture content, chemical composition, or any combination thereof. In some cases, the powdered material has a substantially spherical shape.

[00106] A powdered material may comprise particles of substantially uniform size. A powdered material may comprise particles of at least approximately 0.1 micrometers, 0.2 micrometers, 0.3 micrometers, 0.4 micrometers, 0.5 micrometers, 0.6 micrometers, 0.7 micrometers, 0.8 micrometers, 0.9 micrometers, 1 micrometer, 2 micrometers, 5 micrometers, 10 micrometers, 20 micrometers, 30 micrometers, 40 micrometers, 50 micrometers, 60 micrometers, 70 micrometers, 80 micrometers, 90 micrometers, 100 micrometers, 200 micrometers, 300 micrometers, 400 micrometers, 500 micrometers, 600 micrometers, 700 micrometers, 800 micrometers, 900 micrometers, or 1 millimeter. In some cases, a powdered material may comprise particles from 10 micrometers to 100 micrometers, from 20 micrometers to 90 micrometers, from 30 micrometers to 80 micrometers, or from 40 micrometers to 60 micrometers. In some cases, a powdered material may comprise particles of approximately 50 micrometers.

[00107] A powdered material may be classified by different mesh sizes. A powdered material may comprise particles with mesh sizes of at least approximately 4, 6, 8, 12, 16, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 100, 140, 200, 230, 270, 325, 400, 625, 1250, or 2500. In some cases, a powdered material may comprise particles with mesh sizes of approximately 100 to 625, 230 to 400, or 270 to 400. In some cases, a powdered material has a mesh size of 270. In some cases, a powdered material has a mesh size of 325. In some cases, a powdered material has a mesh size of 400.

[00108] In some cases, a powdered material may include particles of different RQÍV frn / R LnZ / q / Yli - 26 mesh sizes. In some cases, a powder material may be a multimodal (e.g., bimodal) powder material, where particles of different mesh sizes are deliberately mixed together.

[00109] The method for forming a three-dimensional object may require the deposition of multiple layers of powdered material. The method for forming a three-dimensional object may require at least 2 layers of powdered material, 3 layers, 4 layers, 5 layers, 6 layers, 7 layers, 8 layers, 9 layers, 10 layers, 50 layers, 100 layers, 200 layers, 500 layers, 700 layers, 1000 layers, or more to form the object. The object may require 1 to 1000 layers of powdered material, 10 to 700 layers, 100 to 500 layers, or 200 to 400 layers to complete its formation. The object may require 10 to 1000 layers of powdered material, 100 to 700 layers, 200 to 600 layers, or 300 to 500 layers to complete its formation.

[00110] A powder coating may comprise one or more types of powder. In some cases, two or more elemental metals, two or more metal alloys, two or more ceramics, or two or more allotropes of elemental carbon may be used to form a powder coating.

[00111] A layer of powder material may be uniformly distributed over a surface. A layer of powder material may have a thickness in at least a portion of the surface or surface bed. A layer of powder material may have a thickness of at least approximately 0.001 mm, 0.01 mm, 0.1 mm, 0.2 mm, 0.3 mm, 0.4 mm, 0.5 mm, 0.6 mm, 0.7 mm, 0.8 mm, 0.9 mm, 1 mm, 2 mm, 5 mm, 10 mm, 20 mm, 30 mm, 40 mm, 50 mm, 60 mm, 70 mm, 80 mm, 90 mm, or 100 mm. A layer of powdered material can have a thickness of 0.1 millimeters to 10 millimeters, 0.3 millimeters to 5 millimeters, 0.4 millimeters to 2 millimeters, or 0.5 millimeters to 1 millimeter.In some cases, a layer of powder material may have a thickness of approximately 100 micrometers (µm), 200 µm, 300 µm, 400 µm, 500 µm, 600 µm, 700 µm, 800 µm, 900 µm, or 1000 µm. In some cases, a layer of powder material may have a thickness of approximately 300 µm. In some cases, a three-dimensional object may comprise more than one layer, where the thickness of each powder layer may be the same, approximately the same, or different. Binding Substance

[00112] A binding agent (e.g., a binder) may be used to bind individual powder particles together. A binding agent may be applied to a layer of powder material to bind individual powder particles together. The binding agent may be a liquid, a gel, a viscous solution, or any combination thereof. In some cases, a binding agent is a liquid. RQÍV frn / R LnZ / q / Yli - 27

[00113] The binding agent may be a sugar, glue, resin, polymer, or a combination thereof. The binding agent may be sucrose, epoxy resin, Gorilla Glue, polyurethane, nail polish, super glue, wood stain, nail polish, or any combination thereof. A binding agent may comprise an organic solvent, an aqueous solvent, or any combination thereof.

[00114] The binding substance may be acquired and used without alteration. The binding substance may be diluted to achieve certain properties suitable for use in forming a three-dimensional object using a method of the present exposure. In some cases, the solution may be diluted by a factor of at least approximately 1.1, 1.2, 1.5, 1.7, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, or 500.

[00115] The binder may have a bonding strength, bonding resistance, strength, adhesive strength, or tensile shear strength of more than approximately 0.1 pounds per square inch (psi), 1 psi, 5 psi, 10 psi, 50 psi, 100 psi, 200 psi, 300 psi, 400 psi, 500 psi, 600 psi, 700 psi, 800 psi, 900 psi, 1000 psi, 1500 psi, 2000 psi, 2500 psi, 3000 psi, 4000 psi, 5000 psi, or more. In some cases, the binder may have a bonding strength of 100 psi to 3000 psi, 300 psi to 2500 psi, or 500 psi to 2000 psi.

[00116] The binding substance may have a viscosity less than or equal to approximately 1000 centipoise (cP), 900 cP, 800 cP, 700 cP, 600 cP, 500 cP, 400 cP, 300 cP, 200 cP, 100 cP, 50 cP, 10 cP, 9 cP, 8 cP, 7 cP, 6 cP, 5 cP, 4 cP, 3 cP, 2 cP, 1 cP, or less. The binding substance may have a viscosity of 1000 cP to 100 cP, 700 cP to 200 cP, or 600 cP to 300 cP.

[00117] The binding substance can be stored in a container, bottle, cup or receptacle.

[00118] When a binding substance (e.g., a binder) is applied to the surface of a powder layer, some of the binding substance may spread through the upper powder layer to the next powder layer. The binding substance may have a certain depth of penetration along the z-axis, the penetration depth of the binder. The penetration depth along the z-axis, the penetration depth of the binder, may be the result of a deposition technique, bed heating, the viscosity of the binding substance, or any combination thereof.The penetration depth of the z-axis can be greater than approximately 1 micrometer, 5 micrometers, 10 micrometers, 50 micrometers, 100 micrometers, 200 micrometers, 300 micrometers, 400 micrometers, 500 micrometers, 600 micrometers, 700 micrometers, 800 micrometers, 900 micrometers, 1 millimeter, 2 millimeters, 5 millimeters, 10 millimeters, 20 millimeters, 30 millimeters, 40 millimeters, 50 millimeters, 60 millimeters, 70 millimeters, 80 millimeters, 90 millimeters, 100 millimeters, 200 millimeters, 300 millimeters, 400 millimeters, 500. RQÍV frn / R LnZ / q / Yl - 28 millimeters, 600 millimeters, 700 millimeters, 800 millimeters, 900 millimeters, 1 meter or more. In some cases, the z-axis penetration depth may be from 10 micrometers to 400 micrometers, or from 100 micrometers to 200 micrometers. In some cases, the penetration depth of a bonding material may be from 100 micrometers to 800 micrometers, from 200 micrometers to 500 micrometers, or from 300 micrometers to 500 micrometers. In some cases, the penetration depth of a bonding material may be approximately 450 micrometers.

[00119] When the binding substance is applied to a layer of powder material, the binding substance may have a droplet size of less than 1000 micrometers, 900 micrometers, 800 micrometers, 700 micrometers, 600 micrometers, 500 micrometers, 400 micrometers, 300 micrometers, 200 micrometers, 100 micrometers, 75 micrometers, 50 micrometers, 40 micrometers, 30 micrometers, 20 micrometers, 10 micrometers, 5 micrometers, 3 micrometers, 2 micrometers or 1 micrometer. When the binding substance is applied to a layer of powdered material, the binding substance can have a droplet size of 1 micrometer to 700 micrometers, 2 micrometers to 600 micrometers, 10 micrometers to 500 micrometers, or 100 micrometers to 200 micrometers.

[00120] The binding substance may have a small droplet size of less than approximately 10 micrometers, 5 micrometers, 3 micrometers, 2 micrometers, 1 micrometer, 0.5 micrometers, 0.25 micrometers, or less. The binding substance may have an average droplet size of approximately 1 micrometer. The binding substance may have an average droplet size of approximately 1 to 2 micrometers.

[00121] When a binding agent (e.g., a binder) is applied to the surface of a powder coating, some of the binder may disturb or displace particles of the powder. Disturbance, agglomeration, or shearing effects of binder droplets on the surface of a powder coating may be undesirable. Minimizing agglomeration of the powder during application of the binder may be desirable. Using small droplets of binder may mitigate the undesirable effects of powder disturbance on the surface of a powder coating.

[00122] Spray heads can be used to create the desired droplet size of the binding material. The spray heads can be ultrasonic spray heads. When using industrial ultrasonic technology, spraying can be achieved through a combination of the cross-sectional outlet design and the use of a vacuum. Excess droplets can be captured under vacuum to prevent contamination of the rest of the machine. Using an ultrasonic mist making system can be a cost-effective alternative to using a commercial industrial ultrasonic spray head. Mist making systems RQÍV frn / RI Π7 / Σ1 / Yl· - 29 Ultrasonic technology can also be used for creating the droplets.

[00123] The three-dimensional object can be formed under atmospheric conditions. The apparatus may include a dehumidifier to control the amount of moisture present when the three-dimensional object is formed. The amount of moisture in the air can be at least approximately 0 grams per cubic meter (g / m3), 1 g / m3, 2 g / m3, 3 g / m3, 4 g / m3, 5 g / m3, 6 g / m3, 7 g / m3, 8 g / m3, 9 g / m3, 10 g / m3, 15 g / m3, 20 g / m3, 25 g / m3, or 30 g / m3. The dehumidifier may be part of the apparatus. Alternatively, the dehumidifier is not part of the three-dimensional object printer. The dehumidifier may be automatic and switch on or off according to specified conditions. The dehumidifier can be at the level of the device or at the level of the room where the object is printed.

[00124] A three-dimensional object may have a height, a width, and a length, which may be equal or different. A three-dimensional object may have a height, a width, or a length that is, individually and independently, greater than approximately 0.1 millimeters, 0.5 millimeters, 1 millimeter, 2 millimeters, 5 millimeters, 10 millimeters, 20 millimeters, 30 millimeters, 40 millimeters, 50 millimeters, 60 millimeters, 70 millimeters, 80 millimeters, 90 millimeters, 100 millimeters, 200 millimeters, 300 millimeters, 400 millimeters, 500 millimeters, 600 millimeters, 700 millimeters, 800 millimeters, 900 millimeters, 1 meter, or more. A three-dimensional object can have a height greater than approximately 20 millimeters, 50 millimeters, 100 millimeters, 200 millimeters, 300 millimeters, 400 millimeters, 500 millimeters, 600 millimeters, 700 millimeters, 800 millimeters, 900 millimeters, 1 meter, 2 meters, 3 meters, 5 meters, 10 meters or more.A three-dimensional object can have a width greater than approximately 20 millimeters, 50 millimeters, 100 millimeters, 200 millimeters, 300 millimeters, 400 millimeters, 500 millimeters, 600 millimeters, 700 millimeters, 800 millimeters, 900 millimeters, 1 meter, 2 meters, 3 meters, 5 meters, or 10 meters. A three-dimensional object can have a length greater than approximately 20 millimeters, 50 millimeters, 100 millimeters, 200 millimeters, 300 millimeters, 400 millimeters, 500 millimeters, 600 millimeters, 700 millimeters, 800 millimeters, 900 millimeters, 1 meter, 2 meters, 3 meters, 5 meters, or 10 meters. In some cases, a three-dimensional object can have dimensions of approximately 1 meter by 1 meter by 1 meter. In some cases, a three-dimensional object can have dimensions of approximately 500 millimeters by 500 millimeters by 500 millimeters. In some cases, a three-dimensional object may have dimensions of approximately 200 millimeters by 200 millimeters by 200 millimeters. Methods

[00125] In another aspect, the present exposition provides methods for forming a three-dimensional object. Figure 1 illustrates a flow process of a three-dimensional printing process. In some cases, a powder bed is provided on a surface in operation 110. A layer of powder material is then deposited adjacent to the RQÍV frn / R LnZ / q / Yli - 30 surface to provide the layer deposited in operation 120. A binding substance is then applied to the powder material layer in operation 130. The substrate can be cured in operation 140.

[00126] Figures 2A-2C provide top-view schematics to illustrate a method for forming a three-dimensional object of the current exposure. A layer of powder material 205 is provided in Figure 2A. Figure 2B illustrates an area 210 of the powder material layer that has been applied with a binding substance. Figure 2C illustrates a subsection 215 of area 210 that has been heated and cured.

[00127] A layer of powder material can be deposited onto the powder bed via a powder dispenser. The powder dispenser may comprise multiple components, such as a print head or nozzle head. The distance between a powder dispenser component and the powder layer on the surface can be at least 1 centimeter (cm), 5 cm, 10 cm, 20 cm, 30 cm, 40 cm, 50 cm, 60 cm, 70 cm, 80 cm, 90 cm, 1 m, or more. The distance between a powder dispenser component and a powder layer can change during the three-dimensional object formation process. In some cases, the distance between a powder dispenser component and a powder layer can decrease during the three-dimensional object formation process.

[00128] The powdered material may be stored in a powder material tank or container. The tank may hold at least approximately 10 grams (g), 100 g, 200 g, 500 g, 750 g, 1 kilogram (kg), 2 kg, 5 kg, 10 kg or more of the powdered material.

[00129] The powder dispenser can dispense powder at an average rate of at least approximately 1 cubic millimeter per second (mm3 / s), 5 mm3 / s, 10 mm3 / s, 100 mm3 / s, 500 mm3 / s, 1000 mm3 / s, 2000 mm3 / s, 3000 mm3 / s, 4000 mm3 / s, 5000 mm3 / s, 6000 mm3 / s, 7000 mm3 / s, 8000 mm3 / s, 9000 mm3 / s, or 10,000 mm3 / s

[00130] A layer of powder material may be smoothed after deposition onto the powder bed. The layer may be smoothed by means of a roller, blade, knife, gas knife, air knife, leveler, or any combination thereof. In some cases, a layer of powder material is smoothed by means of a leveler after deposition onto the powder bed. A leveler may comprise various materials, such as plastic, metal, metal alloys, glass, ceramic, or any combination thereof.

[00131] The powder bed can be vibrated after the deposition of a layer of powder material by means of a vibrating apparatus. The vibrating device can vibrate at a frequency of at least 20 Hertz (Hz), 30 Hz, 40 Hz, 50 Hz, 60 Hz, 70 Hz, 80 Hz, 90 Hz, 100 Hz, 110 Hz, 120 Hz, 130 Hz, 140 Hz, 150 Hz, 160 Hz, 170 Hz, 180 Hz, 190 Hz, 200 Hz, 210 Hz, 220 Hz, 230 Hz, 240 Hz, 250 Hz, 260 Hz, 270 Hz, 280 Hz, 290 Hz, 300 Hz, 350 Hz, 400 Hz, 450 Hz, 500 Hz, 550 Hz, 600 Hz, 700 Hz, 800 Hz, 900 Hz, or 1000 Hz. RQÍV frn / R LnZ / q / Yli - 31

[00132] A binding agent may be applied to a layer of powdered material through an inkjet printhead, atomizing sprayer, ultrasonic atomizer, air nebulizer, atomizing jet nebulizer, ultrasonic nebulizer, compressor-based nebulizer, vibrating mesh nebulizer, large droppers, micro-droppers, piezoelectric droppers, or any combination thereof. In some cases, a binding agent is applied through an ultrasonic nebulizer, a compressor-based nebulizer, or an ultrasonic sprayer. The binding agent may be applied in a stream, in droplets, or in any combination thereof.

[00133] A binding agent may be applied to a layer of powdered material at a certain flow rate from a container, print head, nozzle, or pump. In some cases, a binding agent may be applied at a flow rate of less than or approximately 100 ml / s, 90 ml / s, 80 ml / s, 70 ml / s, 60 ml / s, 50 ml / s, 40 ml / s, 30 ml / s, 20 ml / s, 10 ml / s, 9 ml / s, 8 ml / s, 7 ml / s, 6 ml / s, 5 ml / s, 4 ml / s, 3 ml / s, 2 ml / s, or 1 ml / s.

[00134] A binding agent may be applied to an area of ​​a single layer of powder material. The binding agent may be applied to an area greater than approximately 1%, 5%, 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, 90%, or 99% of the powder bed surface. In some cases, a binding agent is applied from 5% to 90%, 10% to 80%, 30% to 70%, 40% to 60%, or 40% to 60% of the powder bed surface.

[00135] A current comprising a binding substance may be applied to an area of ​​a powder layer in a powder bed, wherein the current has a first cross-sectional dimension. An energy beam may be directed to a portion of a powder layer, wherein the energy beam has a second cross-sectional dimension. In some embodiments, a first cross-sectional dimension of the current is larger than a second cross-sectional dimension of the energy beam. A first cross-sectional dimension may be at least 1%, 5%, 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, 90%, or 99% larger than the second cross-sectional dimension.

[00136] The distance between the print head or the binder nozzle and the powder layer on the surface may remain constant during the application of a single binder layer. The distance between the print head or the binder nozzle and the powder layer on the surface may differ from one application to another. In some cases, the distance between the print head or the nozzle and the powder layer decreases as the number of layers in the three-dimensional object increases. The distance between the print head or the binder nozzle and the powder layer on the surface may be at least 0.1 millimeters (mm), 0.5 mm, 1 mm, 2 mm, 5 mm, 10 mm, 50 mm, 100 mm, 200 mm, 300 mm, or 400 mm. RQÍV frn / RI Π7 / Σ1 / Yl· - 32mm, 500mm, 600mm, 700mm, 800mm, 900mm, 1000mm or more.

[00137] When curing a layer of powder material, only a subsection of the area to which a binding substance was applied can be cured. A subsection of the area to which a binding substance was applied can be, at most, approximately 99%, 95%, 90%, 80%, 70%, 60%, 50%, 40%, 30%, 20%, or 10% of the area. A subsection of an area can be less than approximately 100%, 99%, 95%, 90%, 80%, 70%, 60%, 50%, 40%, 30%, 20%, or 10% of the area. A subsection of an area can be approximately 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, 90%, or 99% of the area, but it cannot be 100% of the area. The subsection of a healed area can be smaller than the area itself. In some cases, the healed subsection is less than 100% of the area. In other cases, the subsection is less than 90%, 80%, 70%, 60%, or 50% of the area.

[00138] A heat source, electromagnetic radiation, or resistive heating element may be used to cure a subsection of a powdered material area after a binder has been applied. A laser, oven, furnace, energy beam, electron beam, lamp, heating rod, radiator, or any combination thereof may be used to cure a powdered material. In some cases, the heat source used to cure a powdered material area is a laser or a heating rod. In situations where the heat source is optical, the heat source may provide energy to the powder bed directly or by using one or more optical devices (e.g., mirror(s), lens(es), etc.).

[00139] An energy source may be a laser or a plurality of lasers. The plurality of lasers may be part of a laser array. The laser may provide the energy source to the energy bed directly or through the use of one or more optical devices (e.g., mirror(s), lens(es), etc.). In some cases, a laser may provide light energy at a wavelength of at least 100 nanometers (nm), 500 nm, 1000 nm, 1010 nm, 1020 nm, 1030 nm, 1040 nm, 1050 nm, 1060 nm, 1070 nm, 1080 nm, 1090 nm, 1100 nm, 1200 nm, 1500 nm, 1600 nm, 1700 nm, 1800 nm, 1900 nm, or 2000 nm.

[00140] The energy source can be applied to the powder material layer at atmospheric temperature or elevated temperature. After applying the binding substance to a layer of powder material, the layer of the three-dimensional object can be cured with a power source at a temperature of at least approximately 25°C, 30°C, 40°C, 50°C, 60°C, 70°C, 80°C, 90°C, 100°C, 110°C, 120°C, 130°C, 140°C, 150°C, 160°C, 170°C, 180°C, 190°C, 200°C, 300°C, 400°C, 500°C, 600°C, 700°C, 800°C, 900°C, 1000°C, 1100°C, 1200°C, 1300°C. 1400°C, 1500°C, 1600°C, 1700°C, 1800°C, 1900°C, or 2000°C. A layer can be cured at a temperature above 25°C, 30°C, 40°C, 50°C, 60°C, 70°C, 80°C, 90°C, 100°C, 110°C, 120°C, 130°C, 140°C, 150°C, 160°C, 170°C, 180°C, 190°C, 200°C, 300°C, 400°C, 500°C, 600°C, 700°C, 800°C, 900°C, RQÍV frn / RI Π7 / Σ1 / Yl· - 33 1000°C, 1100°C, 1200°C, 1300°C, 1400°C, 1500°C, 1600°C, 1700°C, 1800°C, 1900°C, or 2000°C. A layer can be cured at a temperature from 25°C to 1000°C, from 50°C to 500°C, from 70°C to 200°C, or from 100°C to 150°C. A three-dimensional object can be cured at a temperature from 25°C to 1000°C, from 10°C to 700°C, from 100°C to 600°C, or from 300°C to 500°C.

[00141] A temperature increase can be sufficient to transform two or more particles of powdered material into a molten state. The powder can remain molten for at least 1 femtosecond, 50 femtoseconds, 100 femtoseconds, or more.

[00142] A layer of the three-dimensional object may form or partially form within a confined space or container. The confined space may comprise hydrogen, nitrogen, argon, oxygen, carbon dioxide, or any combination thereof. In some cases, the oxygen level in the confined space may be less than 100,000 parts per million (ppm), 10,000 ppm, 1,000 ppm, 500 ppm, 400 ppm, 200 ppm, 100 ppm, 50 ppm, 10 ppm, 5 ppm, or 1 ppm. The confined space may comprise water vapor. The amount of water in the confined space may be less than 100,000 parts per million, 10,000 ppm, 1,000 ppm, 500 ppm, 400 ppm, 200 ppm, 100 ppm, 50 ppm, 10 ppm, 5 ppm, or 1 ppm. The three-dimensional object may form or partially form while exposed to the atmosphere. The atmosphere may comprise hydrogen, nitrogen, argon, oxygen, carbon dioxide, or any combination thereof.

[00143] A three-dimensional object can be cured to allow the infusion of a metal or metal alloy. The infusion of a three-dimensional object can be with stainless steel, bronze, steel, gold, nickel, nickel steel, aluminum, titanium, or other transition metals or metal alloys.

[00144] A three-dimensional object can be healed at least once during object formation. A three-dimensional object can be healed at least 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 50, 100, 200, 500, 700, 1000, or more times during object formation. A three-dimensional object can be healed 1 to 1000 times, 10 to 700 times, 100 to 500 times, or 200 to 400 times during object formation. A three-dimensional object can be healed 10 to 1000 times, 100 to 700 times, 200 to 600 times, or 300 to 500 times during object formation.

[00145] A layer of powder material on the three-dimensional object can cure for a period of time exceeding approximately 0.1 seconds, 1 second, 10 seconds, 20 seconds, 30 seconds, 1 minute, 2 minutes, 3 minutes, 4 minutes, 5 minutes, 6 minutes, 7 minutes, 8 minutes, 9 minutes, 10 minutes, 30 minutes, 1 hour, 2 hours, 5 hours, 10 hours, 20 hours, 30 hours, 40 hours, 50 hours, 100 hours, or more. A layer of powder material on the three-dimensional object can cure for a period of time from 1 second to 10 hours, from 20 RQÍV frn / R LnZ / q / Yli -34 seconds to 5 hours, from 30 seconds to 3 hours, from 1 minute to 1 hour, from 2 minutes to 30 minutes, or from 3 minutes to 10 minutes.

[00146] A three-dimensional object can be cured for a period of time exceeding approximately 1 second, 10 seconds, 30 seconds, 1 minute, 2 minutes, 3 minutes, 4 minutes, 5 minutes, 6 minutes, 7 minutes, 8 minutes, 9 minutes, 10 minutes, 30 minutes, 1 hour, 2 hours, 5 hours, 10 hours, 20 hours, 24 hours, 30 hours, 40 hours, 50 hours, 100 hours, 200 hours, 300 hours, 400 hours, 500 hours, or more. A three-dimensional object can be cured for a period of time from 1 minute to 100 hours, from 30 minutes to 50 hours, from 1 hour to 30 hours, or from 2 hours to 24 hours.

[00147] A layer of powder material can be cured for a period of time greater than 10 seconds at a temperature greater than 25°C, greater than 30 seconds at a temperature greater than 30°C, greater than 1 minute at a temperature greater than 50°C, greater than 2 minutes at a temperature greater than 100°C, greater than 30 minutes at a temperature greater than 200°C, greater than 1 hour at a temperature greater than 300°C, greater than 2 hours at a temperature greater than 400°C, or greater than 3 hours at a temperature greater than 500°C.

[00148] A three-dimensional object may be polished, burnished, tumbled, machined, finished, or coated after curing. The object may be coated with paint, a metal polish, a gold polish, a silver polish, or any combination thereof. The object may be polished, burnished, finished, or coated at least once, twice, three times, five times, or more.

[00149] A three-dimensional object can form in a period of at least approximately 1 minute, 2 minutes, 3 minutes, 4 minutes, 5 minutes, 6 minutes, 7 minutes, 8 minutes, 9 minutes, 10 minutes, and 30 minutes, 1 hour, 2 hours, 3 hours, 4 hours, 5 hours, 10 hours, 20 hours, 30 hours, 40 hours, 50 hours, 75 hours, 4 days, 5 days, 1 week, 2 weeks, 3 weeks, or 4 weeks. A three-dimensional object can form in a period of 1 minute to 50 hours, from 30 minutes to 30 hours, from 1 hour to 20 hours, from 2 hours to 10 hours, or from 3 hours to 10 hours.

[00150] In some cases, the printing process, which includes applying layers of powder material and subsequently curing each layer, may take more than approximately 30 seconds, 1 minute, 2 minutes, 3 minutes, 4 minutes, 5 minutes, 6 minutes, 7 minutes, 8 minutes, 9 minutes, 10 minutes, 30 minutes, 1 hour, 2 hours, 5 hours, 10 hours, 20 hours, 30 hours, 40 hours, 50 hours, 100 hours, or more. The printing process may take from 30 seconds to 10 hours, from 1 minute to 10 hours, from 2 minutes to 5 hours, or from 3 minutes to 3 hours.

[00151] A computer system or controller may be used in a method of the current exposure to design a model of a three-dimensional object, to deposit a layer of RQÍV frn / R LnZ / q / Yli -35 powder material, to level a layer of powder material, to cure a layer of powder material, or any combination thereof. A computer system can be pre-programmed with information before the object is formed. A model design can be generated before the start of the three-dimensional object formation, or the model design can be generated in real time (i.e., during the three-dimensional object formation process). The model design can be generated on a computer.

[00152] A pattern design may be used to determine the area or subsection of the area or powder material to be applied with the binding substance.

[00153] In some cases, the formed three-dimensional object may have a deviation from the dimensions of the model design. The deviation between the formed three-dimensional object and the model design may be a maximum of 1 cm, 9 mm, 8 mm, 7 mm, 6 mm, 5 mm, 4 mm, 3 mm, 2 mm, 1 mm, 90 micrometers, 80 micrometers, 70 micrometers, 60 micrometers, 50 micrometers, 40 micrometers, 30 micrometers, 20 micrometers, 10 micrometers, 5 micrometers, or less.

[00154] Deviation may be present between the formed three-dimensional object and the model design. An individual part of the three-dimensional object may deviate from a corresponding part of the model design by at least approximately 0.1%, 1%, 2%, 3%, 4%, 5%, 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, 90%, or 99%.

[00155] In some cases, the binding material is applied according to a 3D object model design. The nozzle from which the binding substance is applied may deposit it in a spray or stream. The dispersion or flow may have a spot size. The spot size may be larger than the corresponding dimension of the model design. In some cases, the dispersion or flow has a total width at half the maximum, which is greater than the corresponding dimension of the model design. In some examples, the dispersion or flow applies the binding substance to a larger area of ​​the powder bed compared to the corresponding dimension of the model design.

[00156] In some cases, a first area of ​​a powder layer is applied with a binding agent. The first area may deviate from the corresponding portion of the three-dimensional object model design, wherein the first area is at least 0.1%, 1%, 2%, 3%, 4%, 5%, 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, 90%, 99%, or greater than the corresponding portion of the model design. In some cases, the deviation is from 1% to 90%, from 5% to 80%, from 10% to 70%, from 20% to 60%, or from 30% to 50%.

[00157] The model design may comprise 1 to 1000 cross-sections (or portions), 10 to 700 cross-sections, 100 to 500 cross-sections, or 200 to 400 cross-sections of the object. The model design may RQÍV frn / R LnZ / q / Yli -36 Comprise from 10 to 1000 cross-sections, from 100 to 700 cross-sections, from 200 to 600 cross-sections, or from 300 to 500 cross-sections of the three-dimensional object. The model design may include at least 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 100, 1000, 10,000, 50,000, or 100,000 cross-sections. Such cross-sections (or portions) may be generated using 3D printing software.

[00158] Heating a subsection of an area may include sintering individual particles of the powder material. Heating a subsection of an area may not include sintering individual particles of the powder material.

[00159] After a subsection of an area of ​​a powder layer has cured, the unbound powder material may be dispersed from the bound powder material. The unbound powder material may be dispersed by removing the unbound powder, by vacuum, by suction, by sprinkling, by agitating the surface comprising the powder bed, by agitating the container comprising the powder bed, or any combination thereof.

[00160] In some cases, the subsection of an area of ​​a powder layer corresponding to the design of the corresponding cross-section model is not cured. In some cases, the perimeter of the subsection is generated mechanically, generated with an air knife, generated with a blade, heated, burned, decomposed, or otherwise removed. In one aspect, the present disclosure provides a method for forming a three-dimensional object, comprising: providing a surface comprising a powder bed comprising powder material; applying a first binding substance to a first area of ​​a first powder layer of the powder bed; generating one or more perimeters of the first powder layer through one or more cutting passes, wherein the one or more perimeters of the first layer are in accordance with a design of the three-dimensional object model;depositing a second layer of powder material adjacent to the first layer of powder material in the container; applying a second binding agent to a second area of ​​a second layer of powder material in the powder bed; and generating one or more perimeters of the second layer of powder material through one or more cutting passes, wherein the one or more perimeters of the second layer are shaped according to a design of the three-dimensional object model. In some cases, the method for forming the three-dimensional object may comprise one cutting pass. The method may comprise two, three, four, five, or more cutting passes.

[00161] In some cases, the entire perimeter of a first layer of powder material is formed by a single cutting pass. In some cases, the entire perimeter of a first layer of powder material is generated by one or more cutting passes. In some cases, the entire perimeter of a second layer of powder material is formed by a single cutting pass. In some cases, the entire perimeter of a second layer of powder material is generated by RQÍV frn / R LnZ / q / Yli -37 two or more cutting passes.

[00162] In some cases, the entire perimeter of a first layer and a second layer is generated by a single cutting pass. In some cases, the entire perimeter of a first layer and a second layer is generated by two or more cutting passes. In some cases, at least part of a perimeter of a first layer is generated by a single cutting pass. In some cases, at least part of a perimeter of more than one layer is generated by a single cutting pass. In some cases, at least part of a perimeter of more than one layer is generated by one or more cutting passes.

[00163] Figures 3A-3D illustrate a method for forming a three-dimensional object using a layering technique that has a large layer thickness and a thin snipping thickness. To form the object in Figure 3A, multiple layers of powder material with a large layer thickness (305) can be applied, as shown in Figure 3B. Multiple thin snipping passes with a snipping thickness (310) can then be made to generate a final high-resolution 3D part.

[00164] Figures 4A-4D illustrate a method for forming a three-dimensional object using a layering technique that has a large layer thickness and a large cut thickness. To form the object in Figure 4A, multiple layers of powder material with a large layer thickness 405, as shown in Figure 4B, can be applied. A cut pass with a cut thickness 410, as shown in Figure 4C, can be made to generate the final part, Figure 4D.

[00165] Figures 5A-5D schematically illustrate a method for forming a three-dimensional object using a layering technique that has a large layer thickness and a combination of thin and large cut thicknesses. To form the object in Figure 5A, multiple layers of powder material with a large layer thickness 505, as shown in Figure 5B, can be applied. Multiple thin cut passes with a cut thickness 510 and one large cut pass with a cut thickness 515, as shown in Figure 5C, can be made to generate the final part, Figure 5D.

[00166] A perimeter of a powder layer can be generated mechanically. In some cases, a perimeter can be generated using a multi-axis machine tool (e.g., 2, 3, 4, or 5 axes), a Computer Numerical Control (CNC) spindle, a cutting tool drill, or a blade. The machine tool can be a multi-axis robot. The machine tool can move relative to a support on which the three-dimensional object is generated. Alternatively, the support can be movable and the machine tool can be stationary. Another alternative is that both the machine tool and the support can move relative to each other, such as along multiple axes.

[00167] A CNC spindle can rotate at a certain speed that may depend on the desired cutting properties. In some configurations, a cutting tool or CNC spindle can have a rotation speed of at least approximately 500 rpm. RQftJ LnZ / q / Yli -381,000 rpm, 10,000 rpm, 50,000 rpm, 75,000 rpm, or 100,000 rpm. The rotational frequency around a fixed axis can be approximately 500 rpm to 100,000 rpm, approximately 1,000 to 75,000 rpm, or approximately 10,000 rpm to 50,000 rpm.

[00168] The cutting tools of an apparatus can be changed manually or with an automatic tool changer. In some cases, an object may use multiple cutting tools to accelerate the printing process. In some cases, only one spindle is used for a powder bed. In some cases, multiple spindles are used for a powder bed. In some cases, an object may use at least one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, or more cutting tools (e.g., spindles) to accelerate the printing process. Figure 33 illustrates an example where multiple spindles are used for a single powder bed.

[00169] In this way, an automatic tool changer can automatically program the changing of cutting tools based on the established parameters and / or the specifications of the desired printed object.

[00170] Figures 6A-6D schematically illustrate a method for forming a three-dimensional object using a layering technique with a large layer thickness and a large cut thickness using an aligned cut pass. To form the object in Figure 6A, multiple layers of powder material with a large layer thickness (605) can be applied, as shown in Figure 6B. A large cut pass with a cut thickness (610) can be generated with an aligned cut pass to form the final part, as shown in Figure 6D.

[00171] A cutting strategy can be developed for the formation of a three-dimensional object described herein.

[00172] A cutting strategy can be based on a whole portion of the three-dimensional object.

[00173] The desired 3D object is described in Figure 12. Multiple portions form a layer, where the object's layers are labeled numerically. If the slope anywhere (or triangles in an STL) in a portion is downward oriented, the entire portion can be characterized as "DOWNWARD." Similarly, if the slope anywhere in a portion is upward oriented and there is no downward-facing portion, the entire portion can be characterized as "UPWARD." If the slope in an entire portion is vertical, the portion can be characterized as "2.5D." If vertically adjacent portions, features, and / or surfaces are all "UPWARD" and / or "2.5D," the slice order can be optimized. In the example in Figure 12, the slice thickness is much less than the layer thickness. In Figure 12, each layer is represented with a designation of “ASCENDING”, “DESCENDING”, “2.5D” for all portions.A single cutting pass is made after Layer 1, and a single cutting pass is made after Layer 2. Several cutting passes are made for Layer 3 to obtain a steeper slope. RQÍV frn / R LnZ / q / Yli - 39 refined. A single cutting pass is made for the remaining layers.

[00174] When cutting a three-dimensional object, it can be beneficial to minimize step gradation to produce a desired physical dimension of the object. The layer thickness can be selected to match the thickness of the portion, and a layer cutting stage can occur after each layer is spread and sprayed. Alternatively, if the layering effect is not a concern, the layer sizes and / or cutting thickness can be made larger to optimize speed.

[00175] Figure 14 illustrates the multiple possibilities for forming a three-dimensional object using a layering technique. Since area 1415 has a vertical region, it is cut using a single cut pass. Area 1410 has an upward-sloping slope. This region 1410, represented by 10 portions, is cut after each layer. Area 1405 has a downward-sloping slope. This region 1405, comprising 1 portion, is cut with a single cut pass. The layer thickness can be altered and selected based on the desired 3D object shape and the desired speed at which the object is formed.

[00176] A cutting strategy can be based on a feature of the three-dimensional object.

[00177] A feature can be a geometric subsection of the three-dimensional object. A feature can be represented by a loop or loops within a given layer. For an STL file, the loops can describe the intersection of a specific plane with all the triangles (or polygons) that lie in that plane. Figure 15 illustrates a triangulated digital model as a stereolithography (STL) file. Figure 16 illustrates the triangular intersections for a given portion of the model in Figure 15. For a vertical cylindrical feature, such as the vertical column, the plane intersection is a circle. Figure 17 illustrates the associated loops for that layer for clarity.

[00178] Figure 18 illustrates the object in Figure 15, where each layer is designated and labeled as “ASCENDING,” “DESCENDING,” or “2.5D.” Layers 1805 and 1810 are designated as “DESCENDING,” while the remaining layers are designated as “ASCENDING.” Alternatively, the object in Figure 15 can be designated differently to further optimize the object's fabrication. As shown in Figure 19, given portions or layers can be identified differently. For example, 1905 can be labeled as “DESCENDING,” but 1910 can now be designated as “2.5D.” In this way, it may be possible to cut the remaining layer (or portions) more incrementally, while deferring the cutting of the column features of 1910 until several layers have been sprayed and spread. In this and other examples, the spirals can be described as belonging to the same feature if they share triangles.Similarly, if adjacent loops in different portions intersect with the same triangle, then they can. AQÍV frn / AI Π7 / Σ1 / Yl· - 40 share the same characteristic.

[00179] A cutting strategy can be based on the surface of the three-dimensional object. The surface can be a geometric subsection of a feature of a three-dimensional object. For a given portion, the surface can be represented by a single in-line segment or a set of in-line segments within a given loop. The 2005 surface is illustrated in Figure 20. The surface classification can be used to determine the thickness and order of the cut. Sections of a given feature can be classified differently (e.g., some surfaces are “2.5D” and others are “DOWNWARD”).

[00180] Figure 21 illustrates a way of classifying the surface of the desired object to optimize the cutting order. Portion 2105 is classified as “DOWNWARD”, while 2110 is classified as “2.5D”.

[00181] Figures 22A-22C illustrate a procedure for the portions or layers of a three-dimensional product. For a given CAD model, the model (Figure 22A) can be cut to a defined thickness, illustrated in Figure 22B, and then each portion can be translated into a layer. Each layer can be built one at a time on the respective machine to produce the resulting object of Figure 22C.

[00182] Figures 23A-23C illustrate an alternative procedure for the portions or layers of a three-dimensional product. For a given CAD model, the model (Figure 23A) can be sliced ​​to a defined thickness, illustrated in Figure 23B, and then each portion can be translated into a layer. Each layer can be built one at a time on the appropriate machine for the product. All layers can be sliced ​​in a single pass with a 2305 cutting tool to produce the resulting object in Figure 23C, with additional resolution compared to the object in Figure 22C. The layers are sliced ​​out of the plane, eliminating the need for horizontal layers. This procedure of slicing multiple layers at once with a 3- or 5-axis machine can eliminate the need for step grading and can eliminate the visibility of the layers in the resulting object.

[00183] A cutting tool or cutting bit may have a diameter of at least approximately 1 µm, 10 µm, 100 µm, 250 µm, 500 µm, 750 µm, or 1000 µm. In some cases, a cutting bit may have a diameter of approximately 500 µm. The cutting tool or cutting bit may leave a particular width in the powdered material, or a particular parting line separation.

[00184] A cutting tool or a cutting drill bit may have a slitting speed of at least approximately 1 mm / min, 10 mm / min, 100 mm / min, 200 mm / min, 300 mm / min, 400 mm / min, 500 mm / min, 600 mm / min, 700 mm / min, 800 mm / min, 900 mm / min, 1000 mm / min, 1250 mm / min, 1500 mm / min, 1750 mm / min, or 2000 mm / min. AQÍV frn / RI Π7 / Σ1 / Yl· - 41

[00185] The speed at which a boundary of a layer of powder material is cut can be at least approximately 1 mm / min, 10 mm / min, 100 mm / min, 200 mm / min, 300 mm / min, 400 mm / min, 500 mm / min, 600 mm / min, 700 mm / min, 800 mm / min, 900 mm / min, 1000 mm / min, 1250 mm / min, 1500 mm / min, 1750 mm / min, or 2000 mm / min.

[00186] In one aspect, the present exposure provides a method for forming a three-dimensional object, comprising: providing a surface comprising a powder bed comprising powder material; applying a first binding substance to a first area of ​​a first layer of powder material of the powder bed; depositing a second layer of powder material adjacent to the first layer of powder material in the container; applying a second binding substance to a second area of ​​a second layer of powder material of the powder bed; and generating one or more perimeters of the first layer and the second layer of powder material through one or more cutting passes, wherein the one or more perimeters of the first layer and the second layer are in accordance with a design of the model of the three-dimensional object.

[00187] A method for forming a three-dimensional object, comprising: providing a surface comprising a powder bed comprising powder material; applying a first binding substance to a first area of ​​a first layer of powder material of the powder bed; depositing a second layer of powder material adjacent to the first layer of powder material in the container; applying a second binding substance to a second area of ​​a second layer of powder material of the powder bed; and generating one or more perimeters of the first and second layers of powder material through one or more cutting passes, wherein the perimeter of the first layer is determined by, but is not equivalent to, a design of the first layer pattern of the three-dimensional object. In some cases, the perimeter of the first layer of powder material is half of a varied layer of the first layer pattern of the three-dimensional object.

[00188] A binding agent applied to a layer of powder material can penetrate the powder to a certain depth. In some cases, the penetration depth of the binding agent is approximately equal to the layer thickness of the powder material. In some cases, the penetration depth of the binding agent is less than the layer thickness of the powder material. In some cases, the penetration depth of the binding agent is greater than the layer thickness of the powder material. This can ensure that the layers of powder material adhere to each other.

[00189] A cutting pass can be used to create a perimeter around a first layer of powdered material. In some cases, the depth of the cutting pass (or cut thickness) can be approximately equal to the penetration depth of the substance. RQÍV frn / R LnZ / q / Yli - 42 binder in the powder material. In some cases, the depth of the cutting pass may be less than the depth of penetration of the binder in the powder material. In some cases, the depth of the cutting pass may be greater than the depth of penetration of the binder in the powder material.

[00190] In some cases, a perimeter generated around a layer of powder material can be vertical to the powder bed. In other cases, the perimeter generated around a layer of powder material is not vertical to the powder bed. A perimeter can be generated using a multi-axis machine tool (e.g., 5-axis). The multi-axis machine tool can cut the powder bed at an angle of approximately 0°, 10°, 20°, 30°, 40°, 50°, 60°, 70°, 80°, or 90° relative to the surface of the powder bed.

[00191] In one aspect, the present exposure provides a system for forming a powder for a three-dimensional object, comprising: a powder dispenser dispensing powder material to form a first layer of the material adjacent to a powder bed, and dispensing powder material to form a second layer of powder material adjacent to the first layer; a powder bed; and a cutting tool generating one or more perimeters of the first layer of powder material, wherein the perimeter of the first layer is determined but not equivalent to a design of the model of the first layer of the three-dimensional object.

[00192] Unbound powder may be deposited in an external container. Unbound powder may be used in future applications, such as the formation of other three-dimensional objects.

[00193] A guide system or guide belt may be used to guide the CNC spindle, the masked spray system, or other components of the setup. In some embodiments, the guide system may be a belt, a circuit, a cable, a track, or a computer system.

[00194] Figure 7A and Figure 7B schematically illustrate a sample configuration for forming a three-dimensional object. Figure 7A depicts a powder bed 710 on a support. A guide system 705 can be used to guide a Computer Numerical Control (CNC) spindle 715 to cut a layer of powder material. Figure 7B is a side profile of the configuration, showing the CNC spindle 715 cutting a layer of powder material.

[00195] Figure 8 is a side profile view of a sample spray system that can be used in the formation of a three-dimensional object of the current exhibition. A hydraulic spray head 805 and a connector 810 are connected to a pressure vessel that allows a fine mist of binder to be sprayed onto a powder bed. Other parts of the spray system may include a spray mask 815 to allow only certain spray regions to pass through and come into contact with the powder material, the spray system cleaning station 820, the vacuum tubing for cleaning the mask 825, and the piping RQÍV frn / RI Π7 / Σ1 / Yl· - 43 vacuum for feather capture 830.

[00196] Figure 9A is a bottom view of the sample spray system of Figure 8. Figure 9B is a cross-section of the sample spray system of Figure 8. A plume vacuum orifice 905 is built into the system, along with a spray tank 910 that holds any binding material until it is ready to be sprayed onto a powdered material, and a vacuum cleaning docking station 915 can be used for simultaneous cleaning of excess large droplets in the system, including the spray mask and spray head.

[00197] Figure 10 illustrates a heating system that can be used to cure a layer of a three-dimensional object, wherein the spreader 1005 spreads the powder material onto the powder bed and the cartridge heater 1010 cures the newly applied binder. Different types of heaters at different power levels can be used. A heater can have a power level of at least approximately 1 watt (W), 10W, 100W, 500W, 1000W, 2000W, 3000W, 4000W, 5000W, 6000W, 7000W, 8000W, 9000W, or more.

[00198] Figure 26 illustrates a schematic ultrasonic fog generating system 2635. At least one ultrasonic transducer is submerged a specific distance below the surface of the binder liquid contained in the binder tank 2610. The binder filling tank 2620 is located above the system. The height or level of the fluid can be controlled by float valves 2615 and 2630, and the level is maintained by a filling tank above the binder tank. When the transducers are powered, small droplets are generated. A fan 2625 is PWM-controlled to regulate the flow of the droplets to the spray outlet 2605. The outlet hose of the system 2635 can be a corrugated tube or a smooth orifice.

[00199] A binder applicator can be a spray outlet or a spray head module. A spray outlet or a spray head module can have several different shapes. A spray outlet can be round, oval, oblong, square, rectangular, triangular, or other shapes. The shape of a spray outlet can vary based on the desired dimensions and structure of the resulting three-dimensional object. The spray outlet can span the width of the powder tank. Alternatively, the spray outlet can be smaller than the width or length of the powder tank. The spray outlet or spray head module may have dimensions of at least approximately 1 millimeter (mm), 2 mm, 5 mm, 10 mm, 20 mm, 30 mm, 40 mm, 50 mm, 60 mm, 70 mm, 80 mm, 90 mm, 100 mm, 150 mm, 200 mm, 300 mm, 400 mm, 500 mm, 600 mm, 700 mm, 800 mm, 900 mm, 1000 mm or more.An appliance may have multiple spray outlets or spray head modules. An appliance may have at least 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 or more spray outlets. RQÍV frn / R LnZ / q / Yli -44

[00200] The spray outlet, or the spray head module, may be inclined at an angle to the powder material layer. The spray outlet may be directly above the powder material layer (e.g., at an angle of 0° to the powder material layer), or the spray outlet may be at an angle of at least approximately 1°, 2°, 3°, 4°, 5°, 6°, 7°, 8°, 9°, 10°, 15°, 20°, 25°, 30°, 35°, 40°, 45°, 50°, 60°, 70°, 80° or more to the powder material layer.

[00201] Figures 27A-27B illustrate two potential spray patterns that can be used when directing binder material into a powder layer on a powder bed. Figure 27A illustrates one potential spray pattern system. A circular spray outlet, such as outlet 2605 in Figure 26, can be circular in shape. The spray direction is in the y-direction. The circular spray outlet directs binder material into a powder layer at 2705. The binder material penetrates through the powder in a column at 2710, where there is more binder material in the center of the column compared to the sides. This effect may be desirable.

[00202] Figure 27B illustrates another potential spray pattern system. A rectangular spray outlet can be used, where the binder material is directed into a layer of powder material at 2720. The spray direction is in the y-direction. The binder material is directly equal to the powder material in a column at 2725, where the binder material penetrates through the powder material in a uniform column. This effect may be desired.

[00203] A vacuum may be present in an apparatus of the present display. A vacuum can capture all the excess feather spray that escapes from the mask. The vacuum can prevent the excess feather from escaping and settling on other parts of the apparatus. Unwanted settling of excess binder material can lead to undesirable effects. The vacuum can help direct the flow, speed, and uniformity of the binder spray. The vacuum can create a vortex over the layer of powder material.

[00204] The vacuum can control the direction and speed of the binder spray as it exits the spray mask. The vacuum force can be varied. The vacuum force can be at most approximately 759 torr, 750 torr, 700 torr, 650 torr, 600 torr, 550 torr, 500 torr, 450 torr, 400 torr, 350 torr, 300 torr, 250 torr, 200 torr, 100 torr, 50 torr, 1 torr, or less.

[00205] The shape of the vacuum mask or vacuum orifice can be a number of different shapes. A vacuum mask can be round, oval, oblong, square, rectangular, triangular, or other shapes. The vacuum can be fixed at a certain distance from the powder bed, or it can vary during the synthesis process of the three-dimensional object. The vacuum can RQÍV frn / R LnZ / q / Yli -45ser at least approximately 1 mm, 2 mm, 5 mm, 10 mm, 20 mm, 30 mm, 40 mm, 50 mm, 60 mm, 70 mm, 80 mm, 90 mm, 100 mm, 150 mm, 200 mm, 300 mm, 400 mm, 500 mm, 600 mm, 700 mm, 800 mm, 900 mm, 1000 mm or more from the powder bed. In some cases, turbulent flow may occur and may depend on the distance between the vacuum and the powder bed. A binder spray vortex may also be present and may depend on the distance from the vacuum to the powder bed. The binder spray vortex can be advantageous for binder application and may increase the application rate. The vacuum power can also be varied with a regulating valve. The vacuum power can also be varied by opening a vacuum pipe and not enclosing the entire suction area.

[00206] Figure 28 illustrates an apparatus with a vacuum directly behind it (the spray mask). In this figure, the spray plume will emerge from the spray mask 2810 and make contact with the powder at 2815 and pass in the positive y direction. If the vacuum mask 2805 is activated, the plume of binder material can travel along the surface of the powder in the direction of the vacuum (negative y direction) until it enters the vacuum.

[00207] Figure 29 illustrates a spray module with vacuum-assisted spraying. The rectangular-to-circular spray adapter 2925 is from the binder tank. The rectangular-to-circular vacuum adapter 2905 is connected to a vacuum tube. The arrows illustrate the direction of the plume spray, as it initially passes from the binder tank through adapter 2925 and finally through vacuum adapter 2905 into the vacuum. Columns 2930, 2935, and 2910 are a method for controlling the Y and Z spacing between the spray and the vacuum. The extended length can be used to create a uniform distribution of the spray plume in the new cross-section. The spray mask 2940 and spray mask outlet 2945 are used to prevent excess plume from escaping in the X direction and also for direct spraying onto the powder bed.A 2920 wall can prevent excess boom from moving forward in the positive Y direction. An angled spray outlet can help direct the spray into the vacuum. An intentional 2915 space is provided to modify the vacuum profile, including vacuum power.

[00208] It may be desirable for the spray material to be uniformly displaced from the binder tank or spray outlet to the spray mask outlet. Figure 30 illustrates a method by which uniform flow can be achieved. It shows that a cross-section 3005 has a honeycomb structure path that can be used to ensure a uniformly distributed flow. The structure within the column 2910 can be formed by circular, square, rectangular, pentagonal, or hexagonal tubes, such as in a honeycomb pattern. The structure within the column can occupy at least approximately 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, 90%, or 100% of the column volume. RQÍV frn / RI Π7 / Z1 / Yl· -46

[00209] The column length 2910 can be used to give the plume time and distance to extend from the spray outlet to the spray mask. In some cases, the column length between the binder tank and the spray mask may be at least approximately 1 millimeter (mm), 2 mm, 5 mm, 10 mm, 20 mm, 30 mm, 40 mm, 50 mm, 60 mm, 70 mm, 80 mm, 90 mm, 100 mm, 150 mm, 200 mm, 300 mm, 400 mm, 500 mm, 600 mm, 700 mm, 800 mm, 900 mm, 1000 mm or more.

[00210] The outlet hose of a fog generating system (e.g., ultrasonic fog generating system) may have a diameter of at least approximately 1 mm, 2 mm, 5 mm, 10 mm, 20 mm, 30 mm, 40 mm, 50 mm, 60 mm, 70 mm, 80 mm, 90 mm, 100 mm, 150 mm, 200 mm, 300 mm, 400 mm, 500 mm, 600 mm, 700 mm, 800 mm, 900 mm, 1000 mm or more.

[00211] The fan of the fog generating system (e.g., ultrasonic fog generating system) may have a diameter of at least approximately 1 millimeter (mm), 2 mm, 5 mm, 10 mm, 20 mm, 30 mm, 40 mm, 50 mm, 60 mm, 70 mm, 80 mm, 90 mm, 100 mm, 150 mm, 200 mm, 300 mm, 400 mm, 500 mm, 600 mm, 700 mm, 800 mm, 900 mm, 1000 mm or more.

[00212] The airflow velocity within the fan of a fog generating system (e.g., an ultrasonic fog generating system) can vary. The airflow velocity can be at least approximately 0.01 cubic meters per second (m³ / s), 0.1 m³ / s, 1 m³ / s, 2 m³ / s, 3 m³ / s, 4 m³ / s, 5 m³ / s, 6 m³ / s, 7 m³ / s, 8 m³ / s, 9 m³ / s, 10 m³ / s, 15 m³ / s, 20 m³ / s, 30 m³ / s, 40 m³ / s, 50 m³ / s, 60 m³ / s, 70 m³ / s, 80 m³ / s, 90 m³ / s, 100 m³ / s, or more.

[00213] The amount of power necessary to power a fog generating system (eg, an ultrasonic fog generating system) may be at least about 1 watt (W), 2 W, 3 W, 4 W, 5 W, 10 W, 25 W, 50 W, 75 W, 100 W, 200 W, 300 W, 400 W, 500 W, 600 W, 700 W, 800 W, 900 W, 1 kilowatt (kW), 2 kW, 3 kW, 4 kW, 5 kW, 6 kW, 7 kW, 8 kW, 9 kW, 10 kW, 20 kW, 30 kW, 40 kW, 50 kW, 60 kW, 70 kW, 80 kW, 90 kW, 100 kW or more. A transducer can be used to convert energy from one form to another within the fog generating system.

[00214] Figure 11 illustrates a cutting system or system configuration that can be used for forming a three-dimensional object and also for removing excess material during the forming of a three-dimensional object. A pressure vessel 1115 is connected to the control valve 1120, which controls the system pressure. The control valve 1120 is connected to the masked spray system 1125, which sprays the powder bed or powdered material with a binder. The feather vacuum pipe 1105 removes any excess binder not used in the spraying process. A CNC spindle 1110 is used to remove any excess material during the cutting and forming of the layers of the material or the three-dimensional object.

[00215] In some cases, after a certain RQÍV frn / R LnZ / q / Yl -47Number of layers of powder material, the container or box comprising the powder bed may be placed in a heated environment, such as an oven, for curing. The container or box may be heated to a temperature of at least approximately 25°C, 30°C, 40°C, 50°C, 60°C, 70°C, 80°C, 90°C, 100°C, 110°C, 120°C, 130°C, 140°C, 150°C, 160°C, 170°C, 180°C, 190°C, 200°C, 300°C, 400°C, 500°C, 600°C, 700°C, 800°C, 900°C, 1000°C, or higher.

[00216] The container or box may be heated for a period of time of at least approximately 1 minute, 2 minutes, 3 minutes, 4 minutes, 5 minutes, 6 minutes, 7 minutes, 8 minutes, 9 minutes, 10 minutes, 30 minutes, 1 hour, 2 hours, 5 hours, 10 hours, 20 hours, 30 hours, 40 hours, 50 hours, 100 hours or more.

[00217] Different heating elements may be used when manufacturing an object. A quartz tube heating element may be used. In some cases, at least 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, or more quartz tube heating elements are used during the forming of an object. A greater number of heating elements may accelerate the curing process. The quartz tube heating element may have a power rating of at least approximately 100 watts (W), 200 W, 300 W, 400 W, 500 W, 600 W, 700 W, 800 W, 900 W, 1000 W, 1500 W, 1800 W, 2000 W, 3000 W, 4000 W, 5000 W, or more.

[00218] The amount of moisture in the container or box may decrease after curing. The amount of water in the container or box may be less than approximately 100,000 ppm, 10,000 ppm, 1000 ppm, 500 ppm, 400 ppm, 200 ppm, 100 ppm, 50 ppm, 10 ppm, 5 ppm, or 1 ppm.

[00219] After each cross-section of the three-dimensional object has been layered and cured, the complete three-dimensional object may be cured a second time. The object may be placed in a second container or box, and the container or box may be filled with larger or ceramic grains, such as aluminum oxide grain. The larger ceramic grains may have a mesh size of at least approximately 4, 6, 8, 12, 16, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 100, 140, 200, 230, 270, 325, 400, 625, 1250, or 2500.

[00220] Metallic powder may be added to the second container or box for infusion of the metallic powder into the three-dimensional object.

[00221] The second container or box may be heated to a temperature of at least 25°C, 30°C, 40°C, 50°C, 60°C, 70°C, 80°C, 90°C, 100°C, 110°C, 120°C, 130°C, 140°C, 150°C, 160°C, 170°C, 180°C, 190°C, 200°C, 300°C, 400°C, 500°C, 600°C, 700°C, 800°C, 900°C, 1000°C, or higher for a period of at least approximately 1 minute, 2 minutes, 3 minutes, 4 minutes, 5 minutes, 6 minutes, 7 minutes, 8 minutes, 9 minutes minutes, 10 minutes, 30 minutes, 1 hour, 2 hours, 5 hours, 10 hours, 20 hours, 30 hours, 40 hours, 50 hours, 100 hours or more.

[00222] The three-dimensional object can have an average roughness (Ra) of 0.025, 0.05, 0.1, 0.2, 0.4, 0.8, 1.6, 3.2, 6.3, 12.5, 25, or 50 micrometers. The three-dimensional object RQÍV frn / R LnZ / q / Yli -48 may have a roughness grade number (N) of N1, N2, N3, N4, N5, N6, N7, N8, N9, N10, N11, or N12. The three-dimensional object may have a density of at least approximately 1 gram / cubic centimeter (g / cm3), 2 g / cm3, 3 g / cm3, 4 g / cm3, 5 g / cm3, 6 g / cm3, 7 g / cm3, 8 g / cm3, 9 g / cm3, 10 g / cm3, 15 g / cm3, 20 g / cm3, or more. The three-dimensional object may have a density of at least approximately 7 g / cm3.

[00223] In some cases, the methods described herein may be fully automated processes. In some cases, the methods described herein may not be fully automated processes and may require a worker.

[00224] The methods, apparatus, and systems of this exhibition can be used to form three-dimensional objects that can be used for various uses and applications. In some cases, uses and applications include, but are not limited to, machines, machine parts, automotive parts, implants, hard tissues, soft tissues, fashion items, clothing, jewelry, home decorations, electronic products, or electrical components.

[00225] A computer may be used to regulate and control various aspects of the methods in this presentation, such as, for example, methods for producing the three-dimensional object, including, but not limited to, the movement of the powder bed, the movement of a powder material applicator, the movement of a binding material applicator, a cutting unit, a heating unit, and a laser unit.

[00225] A computer can include machine instructions to generate a toolpath based on the computer's numerical control. The computer can convert a design produced by computer-aided design (CAD) software into numbers. These numbers can control the movement of a printer with respect to spraying, cutting, heating, and all other electromechanical functions.

[00227] The computer may include machine instructions to perform geometric offsets based on statistical scales. The computer may scale the original design produced by the CAD software to compensate for sintering shrinkage. The computer may use a machine learning algorithm, such as a genetic learning algorithm. This may involve several trials to determine the appropriate offsets.

[00228] In toolpath generation, an input can be a Stereolithography (STL) file, which is a standard file format for 3D printing. In some cases, the file may contain triangular mesh data. The output of toolpath generation can be archived in G-code format, which is a control language for CNC machines. G-code can be used to tell the machine to move to various points at a desired speed, control the spindle speed, and power on and off. AQÍV frn / AI Π7 / Σ1 / Yl· - 49 Turn off various printer functions (spraying, heating, etc.). Examples of parameters for toolpath generation include, but are not limited to, tool size (e.g., the diameter of the cutting bit), X-scale factor (e.g., scaling of parts in the X direction), Y-scale factor (e.g., scaling of parts in the Y direction), Z-scale factor (e.g., scaling of parts in the Z direction), layer thickness, penetration depth (e.g., the distance the sprayed binder will penetrate in the Z direction), parting line spacing (e.g., the parting line spacing describes the horizontal and vertical grid spacing for parting lines), slit spacing (e.g., describes the toolpath displacement when slotting a layer), and slit cutting speed (e.g., the XY speed at which the spindle moves when making the slit cuts within a layer), boundary cutting speed (e.g., the XY speed at which the spindle moves while making the boundary cut), movement speed (e.g., the speed at which the spindle moves when it is not cutting), number of cuts per layer (e.g., the number of passes the cutting tool makes to cut through the entire “depth of penetration”; for example, 3 depths of cut of 150 µm can comprise the entire 450 µm), the depth of each cut (e.g., the depth of each cut made, taking into account the “number of cuts per layer”), the GCode resolution (e.g., the distance between points in a given layer in the GCode), and the thickness of the first layer.

[00229] Some implementations may treat the depth of penetration as greater than the layer thickness. Subsequent layers may stick together. However, this can create a problem because excessive penetration can ruin the previous layer. Although in the XY plane, the technologies described herein can make a “fine pass” to define an edge accurately. Furthermore, if the contour of the part is cut for each layer, there may be no way to physically separate the part from the environment. The technologies described herein can employ a fundamentally new way of creating toolpaths through layer displacement. Step 1: The total depth of cut for a layer can be equal to the depth of penetration, not the layer thickness. Step 2: The height of the first layer can be the height of the depth of penetration.Step 3: The shape and size of the previous and subsequent layers can be considered when cutting the current layer. The current cutting path can overlap the previous and subsequent cutting paths. A cut can be created in the shape region of the previous layer, effectively shifting all layers by half a layer. Step 4: The toolpath for the final layer can cover the entire contour area.

[00230] Some implementations may employ the following algorithm. A clipped area (Aca) for a given current layer can be calculated as: ACa = Abo + An o + AP.O, where Abo (Boundary Offset Area) describes the following Boolean subtraction: Abo = RQÍV frn / R LnZ / q / Yli - 50 Aoft-Ao; Aotf describes the area of ​​the current layer including the tool offset, and Ao describes the area of ​​the original current layer; An describes the following Boolean subtraction: AN-c = An-Ao; An describes the area of ​​the next layer; AP.O describes the following Boolean subtraction: Ap-o = Ap-Ao; where AP describes the area of ​​the previous layer. This algorithm can be implemented using machine-executable code run by one or more computer processors. Computer Control Systems

[00231] This disclosure provides computer control systems programmed to implement the methods described herein. Figure 32 shows a computer control system 3201 programmed or otherwise configured to produce a three-dimensional object. The computer control system 3201 can regulate various aspects of the methods described herein, such as methods for producing the three-dimensional object, including, but not limited to, the movement of the powder bed, the movement of a powder applicator, the movement of a binder applicator, a cutting tool, and a heating tool. The computer control system 3201 can be implemented on a user's electronic device or on a computer system located remotely from the electronic device. The electronic device can be a mobile electronic device.

[00232] The computer system 3201 includes a central processing unit (CPU, also “processor” and “computer processor” herein) 3205, which may be a single-core or multi-core processor, or a plurality of processors for parallel processing. The computer control system 3201 also includes memory or memory location 3210 (e.g., random-access memory, read-only memory, temporary memory), an electronic storage unit 3215 (e.g., hard disk), a communication interface 3220 (e.g., network adapter) for communication with one or more systems, and peripheral devices 3225, such as a cache or other data storage and / or electronic display adapters.The memory 3210, storage unit 3215, interface 3220, and peripheral devices 3225 communicate with the CPU 3205 via a communication bus (continuous lines), such as a system card. The storage unit 3215 can be a data storage unit (or data repository) for storing data. The computer control system 3201 can be operationally coupled to a computer network (“network”) 3230 with the help of the communication interface 3220. The network 3230 can be the Internet, an Internet and / or extranet, or an intranet and / or extranet that communicates with the Internet. In some cases, the network 3230 is a telecommunications and / or data network. The network 3230 can include one or more computer servers, which can enable distributed computing, such as cloud computing. RQÍV frn / R LnZ / q / Yli - 51 In some cases, with the help of the 3201 computing system, you can implement a peer-to-peer network, which can allow devices attached to the 3201 computing system to behave as either a client or a server.

[00233] The CPU 3205 can execute a sequence of machine-readable instructions, which can be incorporated into a program or software. The instructions can be stored in a memory location, such as 3210 memory. The instructions can be directed to the CPU 3205, which can then be programmed or configured to implement the methods described herein. Examples of operations performed by the CPU 3205 include fetch, decode, execute, and rewrite.

[00234] The CPU 3205 may be part of a circuit, such as an integrated circuit. One or more components of the 3201 system may be included in the circuit. In some cases, the circuit is an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC).

[00235] Storage unit 3215 can store files, such as drivers, libraries, and saved programs. Storage unit 3215 can also store user data, e.g., user preferences and user programs. In some cases, computer system 3201 may include one or more additional data storage units that are external to computer system 3201, such as those located on a remote server that communicates with computer system 3201 via an intranet or the Internet.

[00235] The 3201 computer system can communicate with one or more remote computer systems through the 3230 network. For example, the 3201 computer system can communicate with a user's remote computer system (e.g., a user controlling the fabrication of a three-dimensional object). Examples of remote computer systems include personal computers (e.g., laptops), tablet PCs (e.g., Apple® iPad, Samsung® Galaxy Tab), telephones, smartphones (e.g., Apple® iPhone, Android-enabled device, Blackberry®), or personal digital assistants. The user can access the 3201 computer system through the 3230 network.

[00237] Methods such as those described herein may be implemented through machine-executable code (e.g., a computer processor) stored in an electronic storage location of the 3201 computing system, such as memory 3210 or electronic storage unit 3215. The machine-executable or machine-readable code may be provided in the form of software. During use, the code may be executed by the 3205 processor. In some cases, the code may be retrieved from storage unit 3215 and stored in memory 3210 for easy access by the 3205 processor. In some situations, electronic storage unit 3215 may be excluded, and the machine-executable instructions are stored in memory. RQÍV frn / R LnZ / q / Yli - 52 3210.

[00238] The code may be precompiled and configured for use with a machine that has a processor adapted to execute the code, or it may be compiled at runtime. The code may be supplied in a programming language that can be selected to allow the code to run in either a precompiled or compiled manner.

[00239] Aspects of the systems and methods provided herein, such as the 3201 computer system, may be incorporated into programming. Various aspects of technology may be considered as “products” or “manufactured items,” typically in the form of machine-executable (or processor) code and / or associated data that are included or incorporated into a type of machine-readable medium. Machine-executable code may be stored on an electronic storage unit, such as memory (e.g., read-only memory, random-access memory, temporary memory) or a hard disk.Storage media can include any or all of the tangible memory of computers, processors, or similar components, or associated modules thereof, such as various semiconductor memories, tape drives, disk drives, and the like, which can provide non-transient storage at any time for software programming. Occasionally, all or part of the software may communicate via the Internet or other telecommunications networks. Such communication, for example, may allow software to be uploaded from one computer or processor to another, such as from a management server or secondary computer to an application server's computer platform.Therefore, other types of media that can support software elements include optical, electrical, and electromagnetic waves, such as those used in physical interfaces between local devices, across wired and fiber optic networks, and across various wireless links. The physical elements that carry such waves, such as wired or wireless links, optical links, or the like, can also be considered as media that carry software. As used herein, unless restricted to tangible, non-transient “storage” media, terms such as “computer-readable” or “machine-readable” medium refer to any medium involved in providing instructions to a processor for execution.

[00240] Therefore, a machine-readable medium, such as computer-executable code, can take many forms, including but not limited to a tangible storage medium, a carrier-wave medium, or a physical transmission medium. Non-volatile storage media include, for example, optical or magnetic disks, such as any of the storage devices in any computer or the like, such as those that may be used to implement the databases, etc., shown in the drawings. Volatile storage media include dynamic memory, such as memory RQÍV frn / R LnZ / q / Yli - 53 main of said computer platform. Tangible transmission media include coaxial cables; copper cable and fiber optics, including the cables that form a bus within a computer system. Carrier wave transmission media can take the form of electrical or electromagnetic signals, or acoustic or light waves, such as those generated during radio frequency (RF) and infrared (IR) data communications.Common forms of computer-readable media include, for example, a floppy disk, a hard disk, magnetic tape, any other magnetic medium, a CD-ROM, DVD or DVD-ROM, any other optical medium, paper tape, punched cards, any other physical storage medium with hole patterns, RAM, ROM, PROM and EPROM, a FLASH-EPROM, any other memory chip or cartridge, a carrier wave carrying data or instructions, cables or links carrying such a carrier wave, or any other medium from which a computer can read code and / or programming data. Many of these forms of computer-readable media can be involved in carrying one or more sequences of one or more instructions to a processor for execution.

[00241] The computer system 3201 may include or be in communication with an electronic display 3235 comprising a user interface (UI) 3240 to provide, for example, parameters for producing the three-dimensional object. Examples of UIs include, without limitation, a graphical user interface (GUI) and a network-based user interface. EXAMPLES Example 1

[00242] In a 1 m x 1 m x 1 m construction box container at atmospheric temperature and pressure, a layer of stainless steel alloy powder material, 325 spherical mesh, was deposited, forming a powder bed. A stainless steel leveler was passed over the powder layer to ensure a level surface. After leveling, the uncured powder material had a layer thickness of 100 micrometers.

[00243] The purchased polyurethane is applied to a first area of ​​the first layer of powder material using an ultrasonic nebulizer. A laser is then passed over the powder bed to heat and cure a first subsection of the first area. This subsection represents 50% of the first area. The subsection is located according to a corresponding cross-section of the three-dimensional object model design.

[00244] Another layer of powder material is then applied and leveled. A second layer of polyurethane is applied to a second area of ​​the second powder layer. Once again, a laser is passed over the powder bed to cure a second subsection of the second area. The second subsection represents 50% of the second area. The second subsection is located according to a corresponding second cross-section of the RQÍV frn / R LnZ / q / Yli - 54design of the three-dimensional object model.

[00245] Layers of powder material are applied, leveled, and then cured, until the number of layers is equivalent to the number of cross-sections in the model design.

[00246] The construction box is placed in an oven under an argon atmosphere at a temperature of 600°C for 60 minutes. After cooling, the unbonded powder material is removed from the three-dimensional object through vacuum. The three-dimensional object is placed in another construction box, filled with aluminum oxide granules, and placed in an oven at a temperature of 1200°C for 60 minutes.

[00247] After cooling, the three-dimensional object is removed from the construction box as a final product. Example 2

[00248] In a 0.5 m x 0.5 m x 0.5 m construction box container at atmospheric temperature and pressure, a layer of bronze powder material, 325 spherical mesh, is deposited, forming a powder bed. A stainless steel leveler is passed over the powder layer to ensure a level surface. After leveling, the uncured powder material has a layer thickness of 0.5 mm.

[00249] The purchased nail polish is applied to a first area of ​​the first layer of powder material using a compressor-based spray. A laser is then passed over the powder bed to heat and cure a first subsection of the first area. This subsection represents 80% of the first area. The subsection is located according to a corresponding cross-section of the three-dimensional object model design.

[00250] Next, another layer of powder material is applied and leveled. A second layer of nail polish is applied to a second area of ​​the second layer of powder material. Once again, a laser is passed over the powder bed to cure a second subsection of the second area. The second subsection represents 70% of the second area. The second subsection is located according to a corresponding second cross-section of the three-dimensional object model design.

[00251] Layers of powder material are subsequently applied, leveled and cured, until the number of layers is equivalent to the number of cross-sections in the model design.

[00252] The construction box is placed in an oven at a temperature of 500°C for 60 minutes. After cooling, the unbonded powder material is then removed from the three-dimensional object through a vacuum. The three-dimensional object is placed in another construction box, filled with aluminum oxide grain and bronze alloy, and placed in a AQAJ toft / A LnZ / q / Yli - 55 oven at a temperature of 800°C for 60 minutes.

[00253] After cooling, the three-dimensional object is removed from the construction box and polished. Example 3

[00254] Based on the geometric characteristics of the desired object, the cutting speeds can be varied and optimized for speed and also for high-resolution features.

[00255] Figures 24A-24C illustrate three different parts.

[00256] The toolpath for the part in Figure 24A has standard-sized features that are cut at relatively high linear cutting speeds. Cutting at high linear speeds allows the parts to be completed faster.

[00257] Given the smaller features of Figure 24B, as shown within contour 2405, the part is cut with a tool at relatively lower cutting speeds.

[00258] The part in Figure 24C contains standard-sized features that are cut at a high cutting speed and also smaller features, as shown within contour 2410, that are cut with a tool at relatively lower cutting speeds.

[00259] The part in Figure 25 is manufactured with a slow linear cutting speed and a high rotary cutting speed, so features such as 2505 are made accurately and production time is minimized. Example 4

[00260] In a 0.5 m by 0.5 m by 0.5 m construction box container at atmospheric temperature and pressure, a layer of powdered material is deposited in a container, forming a powder bed.

[00261] Layers of powder material and binder are deposited onto the powder bed. The layers of powder material and binder are cut according to the pattern design.

[00262] The desired 3D object is described in Figure 13. Multiple portions form a layer, where the object's layers are labeled numerically. The layers are cut with a single cut pass, where layers 1-8 have a layer thickness equivalent to the portion thickness. Layers 9-13 have a thickness greater than the portion thickness for that region. For layers 9-13, a single cut pass is made for each layer.

[00263] After manufacturing and cutting the desired number of layers, the three-dimensional object is removed from the construction box and polished. Example 5 AQÍV frn / AI Π7 / Σ1 / Yl· - 56

[00264] Figure 31 illustrates multiple parts that can be formed using the method described herein.

[00265] Although preferred embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described herein, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that such embodiments are provided only by way of example. The invention is not intended to be limited by the specific examples provided in the specification. While the invention has been described with reference to the aforementioned specification, the descriptions and illustrations of the embodiments herein are not intended to be construed in a limiting manner. Numerous variations, changes, and substitutions can occur to those skilled in the art without departing from the invention. Furthermore, it should be understood that all aspects of the invention are not limited to the specific representations, configurations, or relative proportions set forth herein, which depend on a variety of conditions and variables.It should be understood that various alternatives to the embodiments of the invention described herein may be used to implement the invention. Therefore, the invention is also intended to cover any such alternatives, modifications, variations, or equivalents. The following claims are intended to define the scope of the invention and to cover the methods and structures within the scope of these claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. CLAIMS 1. A method for forming a three-dimensional object, comprising: (a) providing a powder bed comprising powder material; (b) applying a first binding agent to a first area of ​​a first layer of powder material of said powder bed; (c) using a first perimeter generator to generate one or more perimeters of said first layer, wherein said one or more perimeters of said first layer are arranged according to a design of the model of said three-dimensional object in computer memory; (d) depositing a second layer of powder material adjacent to said first layer; (e) applying a second binding agent to a second area of ​​a second layer of powder material of said powder bed;and (f) using a second perimeter generator to generate one or more perimeters of said second layer of powder material, wherein said one or more perimeters of said second layer are in accordance with said design of the model of said three-dimensional object, thereby generating at least a portion of said three-dimensional object.; 2. The method of claim 1, wherein said first binding substance and / or said second binding substance are applied in such a way that (i) there is no accumulation of said first binding substance and / or said second binding substance in said powder bed or (ii) there is no physical alteration of individual particles of said powder material.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said first binding substance and said second binding substance are the same binding substance.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein said first perimeter generator and said second perimeter generator are the same perimeter generator.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising, after (f), heating said at least said portion of said three-dimensional object.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein said heating is bulk heating of said at least said portion of said three-dimensional object, said bulk heating comprising sintering individual particles of said powder material in said at least said portion of said three-dimensional object.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein said first perimeter generator and / or said second perimeter generator is a multi-axis machine tool.

8. RQÍV frn / R LnZ / q / Yli The method of claim 1, wherein said first or second perimeter generator is a first or second cutter.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein said first or second cutter is a contact cutter.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein said first or second cutter is a non-contact cutter that does not make contact with said powder bed when generating said one or more perimeters of said first layer or second layer, respectively.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein said non-contact cutter includes at least one laser.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein said first binder and / or said second binder is applied through an inkjet printhead, an atomizing sprayer, an ultrasonic sprayer or a nebulizer.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein in (b), said inkjet head, atomizing sprayer, ultrasonic sprayer or nebulizer is inclined at an angle greater than 0° with respect to an axis perpendicular to said first layer.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein said powder material comprises stainless steel powder, bronze powder, bronze alloy powder, gold powder, or any combination thereof.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein said first binder or said second binder has a droplet size of 0.1 micrometers to 100 micrometers when applied to said first area of ​​said first layer or said second area of ​​said second layer, respectively.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein said first area or said second area is the entirety of an exposed area of ​​said dust bed.

17. The method of claim 1, further comprising (i) subjecting at least a portion of said first area to heating subsequent to (b), or (ii) subjecting at least a portion of said second area to heating subsequent to (e).

18. A method for forming a three-dimensional object, comprising: (a) providing a powder bed comprising powder material; (b) applying a first binding substance to a first area of ​​a first layer of powder material of said powder bed; (c) depositing a second layer of powder material adjacent to said first layer; (d) applying a second binding substance to a second area of ​​a second layer of powder material of said powder bed; and (e) using at least one perimeter generator to generate one or more perimeters of said first layer and of said second layer of powder material, wherein said one or more perimeters of said first layer and of said second layer are in accordance with a design of the model of said three-dimensional object in computer memory, thereby generating at least a portion of said three-dimensional object.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein said one or more perimeters of said first layer and of said second layer of powder material are generated in a single pass of said cutter.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein said one or more perimeters of said first layer and of said second layer are generated by means of a multi-axis machine tool, a Computer Numerical Control (CNC) spindle, a cutting tool drill bit or a blade.

21. The method of claim 18, further comprising heating said first area of ​​said first layer or said second area of ​​said second layer.

22. The method of claim 18, wherein said at least one perimeter generator is a plurality of perimeter generators.

23. The method of claim 18, wherein in (e), said one or more perimeters of said first layer and of said second layer are generated simultaneously.

24. The method of claim 18, wherein in (e), said one or more perimeters of said first layer and / or said second layer deviate from said model design.

25. The method of claim 18, wherein said first binding substance and / or said second binding substance are applied in such a way that (i) there is no accumulation of said first binding substance and / or said second binding substance in said powder bed or (ii) there is no physical alteration of individual particles of said powder material.

26. The method of claim 18, further comprising, after (e), heating said at least said portion of said three-dimensional object.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein said heating is bulk heating of said at least said portion of said three-dimensional object, said bulk heating comprising synthesizing individual particles of said powdered material into said at least said portion of said three-dimensional object.

28. The method of claim 18, wherein said first binder and / or said second binder is applied through an inkjet printhead, an atomizing sprayer, an ultrasonic sprayer or a nebulizer.

29. The method of claim 18, wherein said powder material comprises particles from 0.5 micrometers to 50 micrometers in size.

30. The method of claim 18, wherein said first area or said second area is the entirety of an exposed area of ​​said dust bed.

31. A method for forming a three-dimensional object, comprising: (a) providing a powder bed comprising powder material; (b) applying a first binding substance to a first area of ​​a first layer of powder material of said powder bed; (c) heating a first subsection of said first area, wherein said first subsection is of a design of the model of said three-dimensional object; (d) depositing a second layer of powder material adjacent to said first layer; (e) applying a second binding substance to a second area of ​​said second layer of powder material; and (f) heating a second subsection of said second area, wherein said second subsection is of said design of the model of said three-dimensional object.

32. The method of claim 31, wherein at least a portion of said second layer is joined to said first layer.

33. The method of claim 31, further comprising repeating (d)-(f) at least 10 times.

34. The method of claim 31, further comprising performing a first curing of said three-dimensional object at a temperature of at least 70°C for at least 10 minutes.

35. The method of claim 34, further comprising performing a second curing of said three-dimensional object at a temperature of at least 500°C for at least 5 minutes.

36. The method of claim 35, wherein said second curing is carried out at a temperature of at least 1000°C for at least 5 minutes.

37. The method of claim 31, wherein said powder material comprises a polymer, a metal, a metal alloy, a ceramic, or any combination thereof.

38. The method of claim 31, wherein said powder material comprises stainless steel powder, bronze powder, bronze alloy powder, gold powder, or any combination thereof.

39. The method of claim 31 or 38, wherein said powder material comprises particles from 0.5 micrometers to 2 micrometers in size.

40. The method of claim 31, wherein said first layer has a thickness of at least 0.01 millimeters.

41. The method of claim 31, further comprising dispersing RQÍV frn / RI Π7 / Σ1 / Yl· - 61 material in unbound powder from the bonded powder material formed from said powder bed.

42. The method of claim 41, wherein said dispersion is by means of the removal of unbound powder material from a container containing said powder bed.

43. The method of claim 31, wherein said first binding substance and said second binding substance are the same binding substance.

44. The method of claim 31 or 43, wherein said binding substance is a liquid.

45. The method of claim 31, wherein said heating of said first subsection of said first area is with the aid of an electromagnetic radiation source or a resistive heating element.

46. ​​The method of claim 45, wherein said source of electromagnetic radiation is at least a laser.

47. The method of claim 31, wherein said first subsection of said first area is less than 99% of said first area.

48. The method of claim 31, wherein said application of said first binding substance is by means of an inkjet printhead, an atomizing sprayer or a nebulizer.

49. The method of claim 31, wherein said first binding substance has a droplet size of 0.1 micrometers to 100 micrometers when applied to said first area of ​​said first layer.

50. The method of claim 49, wherein said first binding substance has a droplet size of 1 micrometer to 10 micrometers when applied to said first area of ​​said first layer.

51. The method of claim 31, wherein said model design comprises at least 10 parallel cross-sections of said three-dimensional object.

52. The method of claim 31, wherein when said second binding substance is applied to said second area, said second bonding substrate is extended through said second layer to said first layer.

53. The method of claim 31, wherein said heating in (c) or (f) comprises sintering individual particles of said powdered material.

54. The method of claim 31, wherein said heating in (c) or (f) is in the absence of sintering of individual particles of said powder material.

55. The method of claim 31, wherein in (b), said first bonding substrate is applied at most to said first area.

56. A method for forming a three-dimensional object, comprising: (a) providing a powder bed comprising powder material; (b) applying a first binding substance to a first area of ​​a first powder layer of said powder bed, wherein, upon applying said first binding substance, a first perimeter of said first area deviates from at least a corresponding portion of a design of the model of said three-dimensional object; (c) heating a first subsection of said first area of ​​said first layer; (d) depositing a second powder layer adjacent to said first layer;(e) applying a second binding substance to a second area of ​​said second layer of powder material, wherein when applying said second binding substance, a second perimeter of said second area deviates from at least a corresponding portion of said design of the model of said three-dimensional object and (f) heating a second subsection of said second area of ​​said second layer of powder material.; 57. The method of claim 56, wherein said first area is at least 1% larger than said design of the model of said first layer of said three-dimensional object.

58. The method of claim 56, wherein a portion of said second layer is joined to said first layer.

59. The method of claim 56, further comprising repeating (d)-(f) at least 10 times.

60. The method of claim 56, further comprising performing a first curing of said three-dimensional object at a temperature of at least 70°C for at least 10 minutes, and optionally performing a second curing of said three-dimensional object at a temperature of at least 500°C for at least 5 minutes.

61. The method of claim 56, wherein said powder material comprises a polymer, a metal, a metal alloy, a ceramic, or a combination thereof.

62. The method of claim 56 or 61, wherein said powder material comprises particles from 0.2 micrometers to 100 micrometers in size.

63. The method of claim 56, wherein said first layer has a thickness of less than 10 mm.

64. The method of claim 56, wherein said first binding substance and said second binding substance are the same binding substance.

65. The method of claim 56, wherein said heating of said first subsection of said first area is by means of an electromagnetic radiation source or a resistive heating element. RQÍV frn / RI Π7 / Σ1 / Yl· 66. The method of claim 56, wherein said first subsection of said first area is smaller than said first area.

67. The method of claim 66, wherein said first subsection of said first area is less than 99% of said first area.

68. The method of claim 56, wherein said application of said binding substance is by means of an inkjet printhead, an atomizing sprayer or a nebulizer.

69. The method of claim 68, wherein said inkjet head, sprayer, or nebulizer has a maximum orifice dimension of 5 to 1000 micrometers in size. RQÍV frn / R LnZ / q / Yli 70. The method of claim 56, wherein said model design comprises at least 10 parallel cross-sections of said three-dimensional object.

71. A method for forming a three-dimensional object, comprising alternatively and sequentially (a) applying a current comprising a binding substance to an area of ​​a powder material layer in a powder bed, wherein said current is applied according to a design of the model of said three-dimensional object, and (b) directing an energy beam at most to a portion of said powder material layer, wherein said energy beam is directed according to said design of the model of said three-dimensional object, wherein said current has a first cross-sectional dimension and said energy beam has a second cross-sectional dimension, wherein said first cross-sectional dimension is larger than said second cross-sectional dimension.

72. The method of claim 71, wherein said stream comprises aerosol particles.

73. The method of claim 71, wherein said stream is a liquid stream.

74. The method of claim 71, wherein said first cross-sectional dimension is at least 1% larger than said second cross-sectional dimension.

75. The method of claim 74, wherein said first cross-sectional dimension is at least 10% larger than said second cross-sectional dimension.

76. A system for forming a three-dimensional object, comprising: a container configured to hold a powder bed; a binder applicator configured to apply a binder to an area of ​​a powder layer in said powder bed; a power source configured to provide a directed energy beam—64—at most to a portion of said powder layer; and one or more computer processors operatively coupled to said binder applicator and said power source, wherein said one or more computer processors are programmed individually or collectively to (a) direct said binder applicator to apply a stream comprising said binder to an area of ​​a powder layer in said powder bed, wherein said stream is applied according to a design of the model of said three-dimensional object,and (b) directing said energy source to provide said directed energy beam to, at most, a portion of said powder material layer, wherein said energy beam is directed according to said design of the model of said three-dimensional object, wherein said current has a first cross-sectional dimension and said energy beam has a second cross-sectional dimension, wherein said first cross-sectional dimension is greater than said second cross-sectional dimension.

77. The system of claim 76, wherein said energy source comprises at least one laser.

78. A method for forming a three-dimensional object, comprising alternatively and sequentially (a) applying a stream comprising a binding substance to an area of ​​a powder layer in a powder bed, wherein said stream is applied according to a design of the model of said three-dimensional object, and (b) generating at least one perimeter of said three-dimensional object in said area, wherein said at least one perimeter is in accordance with said design of the model.

79. The method of claim 78, wherein said at least one perimeter is generated mechanically.

80. The method of claim 78, wherein said at least one perimeter is generated by heating at least a portion of said area.

81. The method of claim 80, wherein said at least one perimeter is generated using a power source that provides a beam of energy that subjects said at least said portion of said area to said heating.

82. The method of claim 78, wherein said at least one perimeter is generated using a laser.

83. A system for forming a three-dimensional object, comprising: a container configured to hold a powder bed; a binder applicator configured to apply a binder to an area of ​​a powder layer in said powder bed; a perimeter generator configured to generate at least one perimeter of said three-dimensional object in said area;and RQÍV LnZ / q / Yli - 65 one or more computer processors operatively coupled to said binder applicator and perimeter generator, wherein said one or more computer processors are programmed individually or collectively to (a) direct said binder applicator to apply a stream comprising said binder to said area of ​​said powder layer in said powder bed, wherein said stream is applied according to a model design of said three-dimensional object, and (b) direct said perimeter generator to generate said at least one perimeter of said three-dimensional object in said area, wherein said at least one perimeter is in accordance with said model design.; 84. A method for forming a three-dimensional object, comprising: (a) providing a powder bed comprising powder material; (b) applying a first binding substance to a first area of ​​a first layer of powder material of said powder bed; (c) depositing a second layer of powder material adjacent to said first layer; (d) applying a second binding substance to a second area of ​​a second layer of powder material of said powder bed; and (e) using at least one cutter to simultaneously generate one or more perimeters of said first layer and of said second layer of powder material, wherein said one or more perimeters of said first layer deviate from a pattern design of said first layer and / or said one or more perimeters of said second layer deviate from a pattern design of said second layer of said three-dimensional object.

85. The method of claim 84, wherein said one or more perimeters of said first layer is at least half of a varied layer of said design of the model of said first layer of said three-dimensional object.

86. The method of claim 84, wherein said one or more perimeters of said first layer is at most half of a varied layer of said design of the model of said first layer of said three-dimensional object.

87. A system for forming a three-dimensional object, comprising: a container configured to hold a powder bed; a powder dispenser that (i) dispenses powder material to form a first layer of said powder material as part of said powder bed, and (ii) dispenses powder material to form a second layer of said powder material adjacent to said first layer; and at least one cutter that simultaneously generates one or more perimeters of said first layer and of said second layer of powder material;RQÍV frn / RI Π7 / Σ1 / Yl· - 66one or more computer processors operatively coupled to said powder dispenser and said at least one cutter, wherein said one or more computer processors are programmed individually or collectively to (i) direct said powder material from said powder dispenser to form said first layer and said second layer and (ii) direct said at least one cutter to simultaneously generate said one or more perimeters of said first layer and of said second layer of powder material, wherein said one or more perimeters of said first layer deviate from a design of the pattern of said first layer and / or said one or more perimeters of said second layer deviate from a design of the pattern of said second layer of said three-dimensional object.; 88. The system of claim 87, wherein said one or more perimeters of said first layer of powder material is half of a varied layer of said design of the pattern of said first layer of said three-dimensional object.

89. The system of claim 87, wherein the depth of cut of a powder layer is equivalent to the depth of penetration of a binding substance.

90. A method for forming a three-dimensional object, comprising: (a) providing a model layout of said three-dimensional object in computer memory; (b) transforming said model layout to include (i) one or more layers each with a layer thickness (L) and (ii) one or more perimeters each with a thickness (P), wherein each of said one or more layers corresponds to a defined layer of powder material, and wherein each of said one or more perimeters corresponds to a separately defined individual perimeter on a given layer of said one or more layers, thereby providing a transformed model layout in computer memory; and (c) using said transformed model layout to generate instructions usable for generating said three-dimensional object, said instructions providing for the generation of said one or more layers independently of the generation of said one or more perimeters.

91. The method of claim 90, further comprising using said instructions to generate said three-dimensional object.

92. The method of claim 90, further comprising determining a configuration for generating said one or more perimeters.

93. The method of claim 92, wherein determining said configuration comprises evaluating a cutting path, said cutting path being superimposed with a first cutting path in said first layer and a second cutting path in said second layer. RQÍV frn / R LnZ / q / Yl 94. The method of claim 90, further comprising determining the total cutting depth for a layer equal to the penetration depth.

95. The method of claim 94, wherein said total depth of cut is not equal to the thickness of the layer.

96. The method of claim 94, wherein said penetration depth is equal to the height of a layer.

97. A computer system configured to implement a method for forming a three-dimensional object, said method comprising: (a) transforming a design of the model of said three-dimensional object into (i) a plurality of layers each with a layer thickness (L) and (ii) a plurality of perimeters each with a thickness (P), wherein each of said plurality of layers corresponds to a defined layer of powder material, and wherein each of said plurality of perimeters corresponds to an individual perimeter in a given layer of said plurality of layers defined separately from said plurality of perimeters, thereby providing a design of the transformed model in the computer's memory; and (b) creating machine instructions to control said apparatus to generate said three-dimensional object based on said design of the transformed model.

98. A non-transient, computer-readable medium configured to implement a method for forming a three-dimensional object, said method comprising: (a) transforming a design of the model of said three-dimensional object into (i) a plurality of layers each with a layer thickness (L) and (ii) a plurality of perimeters each with a thickness (P), wherein each of said plurality of layers corresponds to a defined layer of powder material, and wherein each of said plurality of perimeters corresponds to an individual perimeter in a given layer of said plurality of layers defined separately from said plurality of perimeters, thereby providing a design of the transformed model in computer memory; and (b) creating machine instructions to control said apparatus to generate said three-dimensional object based on said design of the transformed model.