Powder Deposition and Sintering for a Two-Powder Approach to Solid Freeform Fabrication

A two-powder approach is presented where Fused Deposition modeling (FDM) is used to create a thin shell in the shape of the part to be fabricated. The shell is filled with powder of the part material and surrounded by a support powder that has a high sintering temperature. Upon compressing and sintering the shelVpowder system in a uniaxial hot press, the polymer shell burns out and the support powder compresses the part powder. The part powder consolidates into the desired part while the support material remains in powder form and can be easily removed. This paper presents results ofinitial experimental studies.