Patent ID: 6838035

Claim:
A rapid-prototyping method for producing a structural body by a production process of multiple subsequent depositions of layers of a building material, each subsequent layer of the building material being deposited onto a top surface of a next preceding layer of the building material, the building material having a predetermined first density and being selectively deposited for each layer in a liquid state in a form of droplets into selected subareas of a process area and being caused to start to solidify during deposition, after which a supporting fluid having a liquid state is filled into remaining subareas of said process area which adjoin the selected subareas thereof, wherein the supporting fluid is selected to have a second density which is at least equal to the first density of the building material and is selected to remain in its liquid state throughout the production process, end the remaining subareas of each next preceding layer are filled with the supporting fluid substantially up to the top surface of the building material of said each next preceding layer before the building material of the subsequent layer is deposited thereon without wetting the top surface of the building material with supporting fluid.