REPURPOSING WASTE ALUMINUM POWDER BY NET SHAPE SINTERING
Methods for repurposing waste materials, such as aluminum powder, are disclosed. A method in accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure may comprise collecting a material in a container, the material comprising oxidized aluminum powder, processing the material, which includes heating the material to melt at least a portion of the oxidized aluminum powder, and forming the processed material into at least one component.
1 . A method comprising:
collecting a material in a container, the material comprising oxidized aluminum powder;
processing the material, wherein the processing includes heating the material to melt at least a portion of the oxidized aluminum powder; and
forming the processed material into at least one component.
2 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising determining the at least one component based at least in part on a chemical composition of the processed material.
3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein processing the material includes at least hot isostatic pressing, sintering, die casting, hot pressing plus cold drawing, hot pressing, spark plasma sintering plus extrusion, mold forging, or induction melting.
4 . The method of claim 3 , wherein processing the material comprises performing the processing at between 80 MPa to 500 MPa.
5 . The method of claim 3 , wherein processing the material comprises performing the processing at between 170° C. to 640° C.
6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the material further comprises a printed support structure.
7 . The method of claim 6 , further comprising processing the printed support structure prior to processing the material.
8 . The method of claim 7 , wherein processing the printed support structure comprises at least ball milling or grinding.
9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the component is a build plate for a three-dimensional printer.
10 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the material further comprises at least one plate.
11 . The method of claim 10 , wherein processing the material further comprises binding the oxidized aluminum powder to the at least one plate.
12 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the at least one plate comprises at least one of stainless steel and an oxidation-corrosion resistant alloy.
13 . The method of claim 1 , wherein forming the processed material into at least one component comprises machining the processed material.
14 . The method of claim 13 , wherein forming the processed material into at least one component further comprises machining the container.
15 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the material further comprises impurities produced by a three-dimensional printing process.
16 . The method of claim 15 , wherein the material is a waste material from a previous three-dimensional printing operation.
17 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the material is unusable as feed material in a three-dimensional printing operation.
18 . A method comprising:
collecting waste material from a three-dimensional printing process in a container, the waste material comprising at least oxidized aluminum powder;
hot isostatic pressing the waste material to form an ingot; and
forming the ingot into at least one component.
19 . The method of claim 18 , wherein hot isostatic pressing the waste material comprises performing the hot isostatic pressing at between 100 MPa to 250 MPa and at between 340° C. to 620° C.
20 . The method of claim 19 , wherein the waste material further comprises a printed support structure.
21 . The method of claim 20 , further comprising processing the printed support structure prior to hot isostatic pressing the waste material.
22 . The method of claim 21 , wherein processing the printed support structure comprises at least ball milling or grinding.
23 . The method of claim 18 , wherein the at least one component includes a build plate.
24 . The method of claim 18 , wherein the waste material further comprises at least one plate.
25 . The method of claim 24 , wherein hot isostatic pressing the waste material further comprises binding the oxidized aluminum powder to the at least one plate.