Patent ID: 11031161

Abstract:
A three-dimensional object made of a bulk nitride, carbide, or boride-containing material may be manufactured using a powder bed fusion additive manufacturing technique. A layer of powder feed material may be distributed over a solid substrate and scanned with a high-energy laser beam to locally melt selective regions of the layer and form a pool of molten feed material. The pool of molten feed material may be exposed to gaseous nitrogen, carbon, or boron to respectively dissolve nitride, carbide, or boride ions into the pool of molten feed material to produce a molten nitrogen, carbon, or boron-containing solution. The molten nitrogen, carbon, or boron-containing solution may cool and solidify into a solid layer of fused nitride, carbide, or boride-containing material. In one form, the three-dimensional object may comprise a permanent magnet made up of a plurality of solid layers of fused iron nitride material having a magnetic Fe16N2 phase.