Dynamic Molding Deposition: The additive manufacturing in partially ordered system
Résumé
Abstract Additive manufacturing (AM) is now identified as a powerful bundle of fabrication techniques. Limitations were identified to be mostly related to the availability of reformulated materials compatible with existing AM technologies. What if we were able to dynamically generate sacrificial molds with unlimited architectures and material composition? We have discovered such a process, called Dynamic Molding Deposition (DMD) in partially ordered powder system and demonstrated its capacity to produce highly complex objects with 100 µm resolution, without any building plate or support structures. The DMD compatible materials were shown to be almost infinite, from low to high viscosity, from thermoplastic to elastomers. Our process enables us to build unexpected composite objects made up of injection material and powder grains from the dynamic mold. This feature opens the path to a complete new field of research and applications.