Methods of increasing density of 3D-printed and sintered parts
A material for producing a three-dimensionally printed part including a metal material and at least one sintering aid in an amount effective to give the three-dimensionally printed part a density of between about 90% and about 100% after sintering is disclosed. A method of printing a three-dimensional part including selecting a metal material, incorporating at least one sintering aid into the metal material to form a print material, and printing the three-dimensional part is also disclosed. A method of producing a sintered metal part including providing a metal material for the sintered metal part incorporating boron as a first sintering aid, incorporating phosphorus as a second sintering aid, forming the metal part in a predetermined form the metal material, and heating the formed metal part to a sintering temperature is also disclosed. Three-dimensionally printed parts are also disclosed.
1. A material for producing a three-dimensionally printed part, comprising:
a metal material in the form of a powderized metal material in a powder bed; and
a sintering aid combination comprising boron as a first sintering aid and phosphorus as a second sintering aid in an amount effective to give the three-dimensionally printed part a density of between about 90% and about 100% after sintering.
2. The material of claim 1 , wherein the material for producing the three-dimensionally printed part further comprises a binding agent.
3. The material of claim 2 , wherein the sintering aid combination is in the form of a powderized sintering aid incorporated into the powder bed.
4. The material of claim 3 , wherein the powder bed of the metal material has a particle size distribution with 90% of particles having a diameter of less than about 50 μm.
5. The material of claim 4 , wherein the powder bed of the metal material has a particle size distribution with 90% of particles having a diameter of less than about 18 μm.
6. The material of claim 2 , wherein the sintering aid combination is incorporated in an ink comprising the binding agent.
7. The material of claim 1 , wherein the sintering aid combination further comprises silicon.
8. The material of claim 1 , comprising boron in an amount up to about 0.4 wt % based on a weight of metal components of the metal material; and
phosphorus in an amount up to about 1 wt % based on the weight of the metal components of the metal material.
9. The material of claim 1 , wherein the metal material is stainless steel or tool steel.
10. A material for producing a three-dimensionally printed part, comprising:
a metal material, wherein the metal material comprises a filament; and
a sintering aid combination comprising boron as a first sintering aid and phosphorus as a second sintering aid in an amount effective to give the three-dimensionally printed part a density of between about 90% and about 100% after sintering.
11. The material of claim 10 , wherein the sintering aid combination is incorporated in the filament.
12. A method of printing a three-dimensional part, comprising:
selecting a metal material for the three-dimensional part, wherein the metal material is in the form of a powderized metal material in a powder bed or comprises a filament;
incorporating a sintering aid combination comprising boron as a first sintering aid and phosphorus as a second sintering aid into the metal material in an amount effective to give the three-dimensional part a density of between about 90% and about 100% after sintering to form a print material; and
printing the three-dimensional part by forming sequential layers of the print material in a predetermined form.
13. The method of claim 12 , further comprising heating the printed three-dimensional part to a sintering temperature below 1250° C. for a predetermined amount of time between about 1 hour and about 10 hours to form a sintered three-dimensional part.
14. The method of claim 12 , further comprising heating the printed three-dimensional part to a sintering temperature between about 1200° C. and about 1400° C. for a predetermined amount of time between about 1 hour and about 7 hours to form a sintered three-dimensional part.
15. The method of claim 12 , wherein the sintering aid combination is incorporated as a powderized sintering aid into the powder bed of the metal material, an ink comprising a binding agent, or the filament formed from the metal material.
16. The method of claim 12 , wherein the sintering aid combination further comprises silicon.
17. The method of claim 12 , comprising selecting the metal material to be a stainless steel print material or a tool steel print material.
18. A three-dimensionally printed part comprising:
a top portion;
a bottom portion; and
a plurality of sequential layers arranged in a predetermined form between the top portion and the bottom portion, the plurality of sequential layers formed of a print material comprising a metal material, wherein the metal material is in the form of a powderized metal material in a powder bed or comprises a filament, and a sintering aid combination comprising boron as a first sintering aid and phosphorus as a second sintering aid in an amount effective to give the three-dimensionally printed part a density of between about 90% and about 100% after sintering.
19. The three-dimensionally printed part of claim 18 , wherein the sintering aid combination further comprises silicon.
20. The three-dimensionally printed part of claim 19 , wherein the print material comprises:
boron in an amount up to about 0.4 wt % based on a weight of metal components of the metal material; and
phosphorus in an amount up to about 1 wt % based on the weight of the metal components of the metal material.