The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jun. 25, 2024
Filed:
Mar. 17, 2022
Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO (US);
Owen Hildreth, Lakewood, CO (US);
Meredith Heilig, Golden, CO (US);
Sanaz Yazdanparast, Golden, CO (US);
Subbarao Raikar, Golden, CO (US);
Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO (US);
Abstract
A method is provided to remove a selective amount of material from a metal component fabricated by additive manufacturing in a self-terminating manner. The method can be used to remove support structures and trapped powder from a metal component as well as to smooth surfaces of a 3D printed metal component. In some embodiments, selected surfaces of the metal component are treated to make the selected surfaces at least one of mechanically and chemically unstable. The unstable portion of the metal support can then be removed chemically, electrochemically, or through vapor-phase etching. The method can be used for processing any fluid or vapor-accessible regions and surfaces of a 3D printed metal component.