Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Steven P Michaels

Emanuel Michael Sachs

Samuel M Allen

James F Bredt

David Brancazio

Satbir Khanuja

Michael I Cima

Tailin Fan

Alain Curodeau

Alan Lauder

Sang-Joon J Lee

Harald Tuerck

Processes for providing enhanced thermal properties of tooling, particularly metal and metal/ceramic molds, made by solid free form fabrication techniques, such as the three dimensional printing process, and the tooling made by these processes are disclosed. The methods of enhancing thermal properties include incorporating integral contour coolant channels into the mold, adding surface textures to the coolant channels, creating high thermal conductivity paths between the surfaces and the coolant channels, and creating low thermal inertia regions in the mold.

Tooling having advantageously located heat transfer channels

Tooling made by solid free form fabrication techniques having enhanced

Enhancement of thermal properties of tooling made by solid free form

A process for making a component by depositing a first layer of a powder material in a confined region and then depositing a binder material to selected regions of the layer of powder material to produce a layer of bonded powder material at the selected regions. Such steps are repeated a selected number of times to produce successive layers of selected regions of bonded powder material so as to form the desired component. The unbonded powder material is then removed. In some cases the component may be further processed as, for example, by heating it to further strengthen the bonding thereof.

Three-dimensional printing techniques

Growing community of inventors

Carlisle, MA, United States of America

Steven P Michaels