The invention provides a method of manufacturing a golf ball having a core and a cover of one or more layer over the core, wherein an outermost layer of the cover is molded of a thermoplastic material selected from the group consisting of polyurethane, polyurea and mixtures thereof. The method includes at least the following steps (1) and (2): (1) treating a surface of the cover with an isocyanate compound; and (2) washing off and physically removing excess isocyanate compound by blasting the cover surface with a specific substance at high pressure.

A method for sterile packaging of a surface modified implantable device includes irradiating a surface of the device such that the hydrophobicity of the surface is decreased and, optionally, the device is simultaneously sterilized. The surface of the sterile, surface-modified implantable device is then covered in a polar solution to prevent hydrophobic recovery of the surface.

A method of forming a three-dimensional object of polyurethane, polyurea, or copolymer thereof is carried out by: (a) providing a carrier and an optically transparent member having a build surface, the carrier and the build surface defining a build region therebetween; (b) filling the build region with a polymerizable liquid, the polymerizable liquid including at least one of: (i) a blocked or reactive blocked prepolymer, (ii) a blocked or reactive blocked diisocyanate, or (iii) a blocked or reactive blocked diisocyanate chain extender; (c) irradiating the build region with light through the optically transparent member to form a solid blocked polymer scaffold and advancing the carrier away from the build surface to form a three-dimensional intermediate having the same shape as, or a shape to be imparted to, the three-dimensional object, with the intermediate containing the chain extender; and then (d) heating or microwave irradiating the three-dimensional intermediate sufficiently to form from the three-dimensional intermediate the three-dimensional object of polyurethane, polyurea, or copolymer thereof.

The present invention relates to an ink composition containing a multifunctional adhesive suitable for a three-dimensional (3D) printer and the use thereof. The multifunctional adhesive of the present invention contains a compound with a catechol group and exhibits excellent adhesion to various materials (e.g. dry plaster powders, polymers, metals, ceramics, and composite materials). The use of the ink composition of the present invention containing the multifunctional adhesive enables the processing of various functional materials that were difficult to fabricate into a 3D structure. Therefore, it is highly likely that the ink composition of the present invention can effectively create a market for functional materials for a 3D printer and find new areas of application (e.g. automotive, medical, fashion, aviation/aerospace, construction, consumer electronics, entertainment, etc.).

Methods for stabilizing additively manufactured objects are provided. In some embodiments, a method includes fabricating an object from at least one curable material using an additive manufacturing process, where the object has a maximum thickness no greater than 5 mm. The method can include surrounding the object with a packing material, where the packing material spatially constrains the object to inhibit deformation of the object. The method can further include applying energy to the object while the object is surrounded by the packing material, where the energy alters at least one material property of the object.

A surface finishing apparatus and method for smoothing and coloring parts made by additive-manufacturing technologies is disclosed. The surface finishing apparatus includes a tank or chamber into which a part is placed. A colorant is added. The part is both colored and smoothed until the part is at a desired smoothness and color. The part may be smoothed by different suitable smoothing technologies, including abrading with solid media, spraying with a liquid fluid, spraying with solid particles entrained in a liquid fluid, or submersing in a liquid vortex. Also disclosed is a composition for a colorant for a finishing process that smooths a surface of an additively manufactured part while coloring the additively manufactured part.

The invention relates to additively manufactured dental devices comprised of a denture base and at least one removable bracing body joined at specific locations to the denture base. The invention also relates to methods of using these additively manufactured dental devices in the fabrication of dental prostheses.

A system for removing soluble support material from a prototype part may include a container for receiving the prototype part. A pump may be in fluid communication with the container and may be configured to pump a solution into the container and out of the container. A cooling module, such as a heat exchanger, may be in fluid communication with the pump. A temperature sensor may be operatively coupled to the cooling module and may activate the cooling module if a sensed temperature exceeds a threshold.

The present invention relates to methods for making oxidation resistant medical devices that comprise polymeric materials, for example, ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE). The invention also provides methods of making antioxidant-doped medical implants, for example, doping of medical devices containing cross-linked UHMWPE with vitamin E by diffusion, post-doping annealing, and materials used therein.

Technologies are generally described to increase a surface smoothness of a 3D printed article implementing a water-based treatment using layer by layer (LBL) deposition. An initial 3D printed article having an anionic surface may be treated with a first aqueous solution comprising at least one polycation that may bind to the anionic surface to produce a first treated surface, which may be rinsed with water to remove the first aqueous solution. The first treated surface may be treated with a second aqueous solution comprising at least one anionic microparticle that may bind to the polycation to produce a final 3D printed article having. a second treated surface, which may be rinsed with water to remove the second aqueous solution. The bound polycation and anionic microparticle may be present as a single layer in the final 3D printed article that may act as a conformal coating to increase the surface smoothness.