A 3D printer successively fuses sheet material in a stack to form a three-dimensional object. The sheet material may provide a mesh separating islands of material that will be fused to produce the desired three-dimensional object. The mesh provides support for the island material during the fusing process and may be removed afterwards.

A method for forming a reinforced metallic structure includes providing a tool having a formation surface corresponding to a desired structure shape of the reinforced metallic structure. The method also includes positioning a plurality of fibers on the formation surface of the tool. The method also includes depositing a layer of material on the plurality of fibers using a cold-spray technique. The method also includes removing the layer of material with the plurality of fibers from the tool to create the reinforced metallic structure.

Provided is a metal matrix nanocomposite comprising: (a) a metal or metal alloy as a matrix material; and (b) multiple graphene sheets that are dispersed in said matrix material, wherein said multiple graphene sheets are substantially aligned to be parallel to one another and are in an amount from 0.1% to 95% by volume based on the total nanocomposite volume; wherein the multiple graphene sheets contain single-layer or few-layer graphene sheets selected from pristine graphene, graphene oxide, reduced graphene oxide, graphene fluoride, graphene chloride, graphene bromide, graphene iodide, hydrogenated graphene, nitrogenated graphene, doped graphene, chemically functionalized graphene, or a combination thereof and wherein the chemically functionalized graphene is not graphene oxide. The metal matrix exhibits a combination of exceptional tensile strength, modulus, thermal conductivity, and/or electrical conductivity.

Provided is a metal matrix nanocomposite comprising: (a) a metal or metal alloy as a matrix material; and (b) multiple graphene sheets that are dispersed in said matrix material, wherein said multiple graphene sheets are substantially aligned to be parallel to one another and are in an amount from 0.1% to 95% by volume based on the total nanocomposite volume; wherein the multiple graphene sheets contain single-layer or few-layer graphene sheets selected from pristine graphene, graphene oxide, reduced graphene oxide, graphene fluoride, graphene chloride, graphene bromide, graphene iodide, hydrogenated graphene, nitrogenated graphene, doped graphene, chemically functionalized graphene, or a combination thereof and wherein the chemically functionalized graphene is not graphene oxide. The metal matrix exhibits a combination of exceptional tensile strength, modulus, thermal conductivity, and/or electrical conductivity.

A method for forming a reinforced metallic structure includes providing a tool having a formation surface corresponding to a desired structure shape of the reinforced metallic structure. The method also includes positioning a plurality of fibers on the formation surface of the tool. The method also includes depositing a layer of material on the plurality of fibers using a cold-spray technique. The method also includes removing the layer of material with the plurality of fibers from the tool to create the reinforced metallic structure.

A method of manufacturing metal matrix composite (MMC) parts, including the steps of applying a metallic sheath around a bundle of MMC laminates, heating the bundle of MMC laminates in the metallic sheath at a curing or fusing temperature to consolidate the bundle of MMC laminates into a single cured or fused part, and then cooling the cured or fused part. The bundle of MMC laminates may be formed by removing surface contamination from the dry reinforcement fibers, creating a plurality of individual MMC laminates by plating dry reinforcement fibers with electroless nickel, and/or electrodeposited nickel or cobalt, and stacking each of the plurality of individual MMC laminates into a bundle. Autocatalytic and/or electroplating may be used as the primary means to incorporate fiber reinforcement into the metal matrix composite by covering and bonding fiber reinforcement into MMC laminates/plies and/or 3-D woven parts.

Aluminum-boron nitride nanotube composites and methods of making thereof are disclosed herein. In at least one specific embodiment, the method can include: at least partially coating boron nitride nanotubes with aluminum to make an aluminum-boron nitride nanotube layered structure, where the at least partially coating is performed by sputter deposition, and where the boron nitride nanotubes have a length of about 100 μm to about 300 μm; sintering the aluminum-boron nitride nanotube layered structure to make an aluminum-boron nitride nanotube pellet, where the sintering is performed by spark plasma sintering; and rolling the aluminum-boron nitride nanotube pellet to make the aluminum-boron nitride nanotube composite.

A method, product, apparatus, and article of manufacture for the application of the Composite Based Additive Manufacturing (CBAM) method to produce objects in metal, and in metal fiber hybrids or composites. The approach has many advantages, including the ability to produce more complex geometries than conventional methods such as milling and casting, improved material properties, higher production rates and the elimination of complex fixturing, complex tool paths and tool changes and, for casting, the need for patterns and tools. The approach works by slicing a 3D model, selectively printing a fluid onto a sheet of substrate material for each layer based on the model, flooding onto the substrate a powdered metal to which the fluid adheres in printed areas, clamping and aligning a stack of coated sheets, heating the stacked sheets to melt the powdered metal and fuse the layers of substrate, and removing excess powder and unfused substrate.

A method for manufacturing a composite material, a sensor element or an active component of a sensor element. The sensor element is applied in a field device of automation technology. At least two materials with different physical and chemical properties are predetermined depending on a functionality of the sensor element or the active component of the sensor element. An outer shape, into which the at least two materials should be formed, is predetermined. The outer shape is divided into a plurality of virtual spatial regions, wherein in each virtual spatial region the material distribution of the at least two materials occurs homogeneously and periodically according to predetermined rules corresponding to a microstructure. The predetermined rules are ascertained via a computer supported method depending on the predetermined functionality of the sensor element or the active component of the sensor element, wherein digital data, which describe the ascertained distribution of the at least two materials, are transferred to at least one 3D printer. As a printed product the sensor element or the active component of the sensor element is created by the 3D printer based on the digital data.

Additive fabrication methods for 3D composite objects having preform fiber reinforcements embedded in a matrix material include providing local heat and mechanical energy to at least partially melt, impregnate and solidify the matrix material forming at least one reinforced composite layer of the object. Successive layers are added in accordance to a computer generated tool path to form a three dimensional object with useful features.