SELECTIVE LASER SINTERING OF POLYMERIC POWDERS EMBEDDED WITH WATER-SOLUBLE FLOW ADDITIVES

• Main Authors: HANSON, William, DADSETAN, Mahrokh, ACREMAN, Kevin, JONES, Marshall Scott
• Format: Patent
• Language: English; French; German
• Published: 02.10.2024
• Subjects: ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY; ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING, i.e. MANUFACTURING OFTHREE-DIMENSIONAL [3-D] OBJECTS BY ADDITIVE DEPOSITION, ADDITIVEAGGLOMERATION OR ADDITIVE LAYERING, e.g. BY 3-D PRINTING,STEREOLITHOGRAPHY OR SELECTIVE LASER SINTERING; AFTER-TREATMENT OF THE SHAPED PRODUCTS, e.g. REPAIRING; PERFORMING OPERATIONS; SHAPING OF MATERIAL IN A PLASTIC STATE, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDEDFOR; SHAPING OR JOINING OF PLASTICS; TRANSPORTING; WORKING OF PLASTICS; WORKING OF SUBSTANCES IN A PLASTIC STATE, IN GENERAL

This invention is directed to a polymeric powder preferably a medical grade polymeric powder, for use in Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) for application fields including but not limited to medical, food, and pharmaceutical. The, preferably medical grade, polymer is biodegradable and can be used to manufacture objects such as medical implants and tissue scaffolds. The powder is biocompatible and biodegradable and can include a flow additive. The flow additive can consist of an osteoconductive flow aid suited for medical applications, a water-soluble salt flow aid that does dissolve during device degradation, or a combination of both. The water-soluble salt flow aid is used for applications where no leftover signs of implantation are observed within tissue after device degradation.