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Method and apparatus for fabricating a component
The invention relates to a method of fabricating a component having a one-, two- or three-dimensional geometry, wherein the shape of the component is obtained by utilizing an acoustic field and the effect of acoustic forces and by fixating a shape that forms in the acoustic field. This may be achieved by accumulating a material, like e. g. discrete particles in the pressure nodes formed by the acoustic field. Furthermore, the invention relates to an apparatus for fabricating a component, including an acoustic source device for forming an acoustic field that gives rise to a shape, including shapes formed by a particle distribution by acoustic forces, and a fixation device for fixating a shape of the particle distribution. Applications of the invention are available in the fields of fabricating materials with arbitrary shapes, e.g. for rapid prototyping purposes, and the assembly of materials.
@patent{EP3034281, title = {Method and apparatus for fabricating a component}, abstract = {The invention relates to a method of fabricating a component having a one-, two- or three-dimensional geometry, wherein the shape of the component is obtained by utilizing an acoustic field and the effect of acoustic forces and by fixating a shape that forms in the acoustic field. This may be achieved by accumulating a material, like e. g. discrete particles in the pressure nodes formed by the acoustic field. Furthermore, the invention relates to an apparatus for fabricating a component, including an acoustic source device for forming an acoustic field that gives rise to a shape, including shapes formed by a particle distribution by acoustic forces, and a fixation device for fixating a shape of the particle distribution. Applications of the invention are available in the fields of fabricating materials with arbitrary shapes, e.g. for rapid prototyping purposes, and the assembly of materials.}, number = {EP3034281B1}, year = {2019}, slug = {ep3034281}, author = {Melde, K. and Fischer, P.} }