Sandia Corporation

Henry C Peebles

Marcelino Essien

Eric M Schlienger

Philip A Sackinger

The apparatus comprises a device for supplying molten metal, a device for heating molten metal such that it remains fluid while within the apparatus, a device for applying a magnetic field in a direction perpendicular to the device for supplying molten metal, a device for transmitting electric current directly through molten metal to exert a force in a first direction on molten metal, where the device for transmitting can reverse the direction of the current to a second direction, opposite of the first direction, to form a droplet of molten metal, and a receiver for the droplet where the accumulation of a multitude of droplets upon the receiver results in the formation of the desired metal part. The mixing chamber can include a rotary electrode arrangement which mixes the molten metal by movement. In order to customize the metal composition of various areas of the metal part being produced, the apparatus can have a first and second feed stream input, each feed stream being of a different composition, and each input with port electrodes, where the supply of electric current to the port electrodes is separably controlled, such that variation in the amount of current supplied to each port electrode results in variation in the amount of molten metal that is moved through the first and second input into the annular chamber.

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Albuquerque, NM, United States of America

Henry C Peebles