ADDITIVE FABRICATION PROCESS WITH A STRUCTURAL MATERIAL COMPRISING AN IR ABSORBER

Abstract

A process for manufacturing an article, comprising the step of manufacturing the article via an additive fabrication process from a structural material, is notable in that the structural material comprises a polymer selected from the following group: (co)polycarbonates, polyesters, polyestercarbonates, polyformals, polyamides, polyethers, polyvinyl chloride, polymethyl (meth)acrylate, polystyrene or a combination of at least two thereof and an additive absorbing infrared radiation. The additive absorbing infrared radiation is selected for its chemical structure and its concentration in the structural material such that it reduces transmission by the structural material of light in the wavelength range between 600 nm and 1700 nm, determined on a sample 100 ?m thick, by ?2.5 percentage points relative to a structural material sample with a thickness of 100 ?m that does not contain the additive absorbing infrared radiation. During the additive fabrication process the structural material is exposed at least temporarily to infrared radiation in the wavelength range between 600 nm and 1700 nm. An article obtainable by a process as described above is notable for its production from a structural material which comprises a polymer selected from the following group: (co)polycarbonates, polyesters, polyestercarbonates, polyformals, polyamides, polyethers, polyvinyl chloride, polymethyl (meth)acrylate, polystyrene or a combination of at least two thereof and an additive absorbing infrared radiation, where the article, in the direction of its construction in the additive manufacturing process used to make it, has a tensile strength (ISO 527) which is >30% to . . . 100% of the tensile strength (ISO 527) of a specimen injection-moulded from the same structural material.

Claims

1. A process for producing an article, comprising the step of producing the article by means of an additive manufacturing method from a construction material, characterized in that the construction material comprises a polymer selected from the group of: (co)polycarbonates, polyesters, polyestercarbonates, polyformals, polyamides, polyethers, polyvinylchloride, polymethyl(meth)acrylate, polystyrene or a combination of at least two of these and an additive that absorbs infrared radiation, wherein the additive that absorbs infrared radiation, in terms of its chemical structure and its concentration in the construction material, is selected such that it reduces the transmittance of the construction material for light in the wavelength range between 600 nm and 1700 nm, determined on a 100 ?m-thick sample, by ?2.5 percentage points compared to a sample of the construction material having a thickness of 100 ?m that does not contain the additive that absorbs infrared radiation, and wherein, during the additive manufacturing method, the construction material is at least temporarily exposed to infrared radiation in the wavelength range between 600 nm and 1700 nm.

2. The process as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the additive that absorbs infrared radiation is present at the surface of the construction material.

3. The process as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the additive that absorbs infrared radiation is distributed within the construction material.

4. The process as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the additive that absorbs infrared radiation is selected from the group of: borides, tungstates, mixtures of at least one boride and at least one tungstate, carbon black, organic IR absorbers or a combination of at least two of these.

5. The process as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the additive that absorbs infrared radiation is present in the construction material in an amount of ?0.0005% by weight to ?3% by weight, based on the total weight of the construction material.

6. The process as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that, during the production of the article by means of the additive manufacturing method from the construction material, an infrared radiation source irradiates the construction material with infrared radiation.

7. The process as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the construction material includes a polycarbonate having a weight-average molecular weight M.sub.w of ?25 000 g/mol to ?40 000 g/mol.

8. The process as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the production of the article by means of the additive manufacturing process comprises the steps of: applying a layer of particles including the construction material to a target surface; introducing energy into a selected portion of the layer corresponding to a cross section of the article such that the particles in the selected portion are bonded; repeating the steps of applying and introducing energy for a multitude of layers, such that the bonded portions of the adjacent layers become bonded in order to form the article.

9. The process as claimed in claim 8, characterized in that the introducing of energy into a selected portion of the layer corresponding to a cross section of the article such that the particles in the selected portion are bonded comprises the following step: irradiating a selected portion of the layer corresponding to a cross section of the article with a beam of energy, such that the particles in the selected portion are bonded.

10. The process as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the production of the article by means of the additive manufacturing process comprises the steps of: applying a filament of an at least partly molten construction material to a carrier, such that a layer of the construction material is obtained, corresponding to a first selected cross section of the article; optionally applying a filament of the at least partly molten construction material to a previously applied layer of the construction material, such that a further layer of the construction material is obtained, which corresponds to a further selected cross section of the article and which is bonded to the layer applied beforehand; optionally repeating the step of applying a filament of the at least partly molten construction material to a previously applied layer of the construction material until the article has been formed.

11. The process as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the process is conducted within a construction space and the temperature of the construction space is 10? C. lower than the glass transition temperature T.sub.g of the construction material (determined by DSC to DIN EN ISO 11357 at heating rate 10? C./min).

12. The process as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the surface temperature of a layer of the construction material applied last in the additive manufacturing method is not less than a temperature which, in a dynamic-mechanical analysis of the construction material (to ISO 6721-10 at an angular frequency of 1/s), corresponds to a point of intersection of a theoretical straight line in the section of the curve of the storage modulus E corresponding to a vitreous state of the construction material and a theoretical straight line in the section of the curve of the storage modulus E in which the storage modulus E declines and indicates a glass transition.

13. An article obtainable by a process as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the article has been produced by construction material comprising a polymer selected from the group of: (co)polycarbonates, polyesters, polyestercarbonates, polyformals, polyamides, polyethers, polyvinylchloride, polymethyl(meth)acrylate, polystyrene or a combination of at least two of these and an additive that absorbs infrared radiation, and wherein the article, in construction direction of the additive manufacturing method used in the production thereof, has a tensile strength (ISO 527) of ?30% to ?100% of the tensile strength (ISO 527) of an injection-molded specimen made from the same construction material.

Description

EXAMPLES

[0114] There follows a detailed description of the invention with reference to working examples, the methods of determination described here being used for all corresponding parameters in the present invention unless stated otherwise.

[0115] IR Absorber KHDS 872-G2 is lanthanum hexaboride was sourced from Sumitomo Metal Mining Co. Ltd.

[0116] Makrolon? 3108 polycarbonate as per datasheet, 30 Nov. 2017 edition, was sourced from Covestro Deutschland AG,

Example 1: Production or Pulverulent Construction Materials

[0117] The following two powders were produced:

[0118] Powder 1: was produced from Makrolon? 3108 by cryogenic grinding (d.sub.50=73 ?m).

[0119] Powder 2: was produced by mixing powder 1 with 0.01% by weight of KHDS 872-G2 IR absorber and homogenized in an overhead mixer.

[0120] The cryogenic grinding of the Makrolon? 3108 was established in a cone-shaped (rotor/stator) mill with liquid nitrogen. For this purpose, Makrolon? 3108 granules were precooled with liquid nitrogen and introduced into the mill with a large excess of nitrogen in order not to allow the temperature to rise above ?80? C. during the grinding. The grinding product was then sieved through at least one sieve having a size of 125 ?m. 50% by weight of the powder had a diameter of less than about 73 ?m (measured by means of laser diffraction with HELOS particle size analysis).

[0121] Powders 1 and 2 were each introduced separately into an aluminum dish to a height of about 5 mm. Both powders were exposed to near infrared (NIR) radiation. For this purpose, the Cefla Finishing Drycoat 300P drier was used. The powders were exposed to the NIR light for 50 s; the power of the NIR source was 20 kW. An irradiation area of 50 cm?200 cm in the drier results in a power density of about 2 W/cm.sup.2. The air temperature in the drier during the irradiation was between 110? C. and 120? C.

[0122] By contrast with powder 1 which remained in the pulverulent state as originally introduced after irradiation, the surface of powder 2 had sintered together. A film with a layer thickness of about 1 mm had been formed.

[0123] In this way, it was shown that only inventive powder 2 is sintered under the conditions chosen, whereas non-inventive powder 1 remains in the original powder state.

Example 2

[0124] Powder 2 according to example 1 was introduced into an aluminum dish to a height of about 5 mm. Half the dish was covered with an aluminum lid. The dish was exposed to NIR radiation in a Cefla Finishing Drycoat 300P drier. The powder was exposed to the NIR light for 50 s; the power of the NIR source was 20 kW.

[0125] In the region in which the powder was exposed directly to the IR radiation without a cover, the surface of the powder had sintered together. A thin film with a layer thickness of about 1 mm had formed.

[0126] In the region in which the powder was covered and not exposed directly to the IR radiation, the powder had remained in the loose state as originally introduced.