Patent ID: 11969795
Assignee: DESKTOP METAL, INC.
Field: Other special machines (Mechanical engineering)
Classification: CPC B  C  Y | IPC B

Claim 6:
7. A method of fabricating a three-dimensional object having a separable support, comprising the steps of:
forming a plurality of successive layers of build material into a desired shape of the three-dimensional object and a support structure, the build material including a binder system and a sinterable powder;
wherein during the step of forming a plurality of successive layers the desired shape of the three-dimensional object is connected to the support structure by a weak connection;
debinding at least a portion of the binder system; and
sintering the shape of the three-dimensional object in a sintering furnace into a densified final object and the support structure into a densified support structure separable therefrom at the weak connection; and
wherein the during the step of sintering the support structure is subject to drag on a furnace floor that, absent the presence of the support structure, the shape of the three-dimensional object would be subject to during the step of sintering.