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Freeform fabrication by controlled droplet deposition of powder filled melts

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Abstract

A method of directly delivering highly filled hot-melt particulate suspensions using piezoelectric droplet generators is presented. Highly fluid suspensions of alumina in a mixture of long and short chain n-alkanes containing up to 40% by volume solids have been prepared. These fluids were subsequently used to deposit ceramic objects using a commercial ink-jet printer. These objects were then successfully sintered to near full density. The deposition mechanism is controlled by the propagation of acoustic waves in a droplet generating chamber. We have observed the change in resonance of this chamber with the introduction of particles into a fluid. A simple model is developed to explain these observations in terms of changes in the speed of sound of the fluid on the addition of solid particles in suspension.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Manchester Materials Science Centre, UMIST and the University of Manchester, Grosvenor St, Manchester, M1 7HS, UK

    C. Ainsley, N. Reis & B. Derby

Authors
  1. C. Ainsley
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  2. N. Reis
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  3. B. Derby
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Ainsley, C., Reis, N. & Derby, B. Freeform fabrication by controlled droplet deposition of powder filled melts. Journal of Materials Science 37, 3155–3161 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1016106311185

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1016106311185

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