Patent ID: 8652278

Claim:
A method for producing a shaped body comprising: (i) spreading individual, loose fibers in a predetermined layer thickness to form a new fiber layer on an already-existing, adjacent fiber layer, the fibers each respectively having: (a) a diameter in a lateral direction thereof that is smaller than its length in a longitudinal direction thereof, the lateral direction being perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, (b) a uniform cross-section in the lateral direction along its length in the longitudinal direction thereof and (c) a homogeneous thermoplastic composition, and wherein the new fiber layer is comprised of at least 50 volume percent of said fibers, (ii) irradiating at least one predetermined area of the new fiber layer, so that a surface temperature of said fibers within the at least one predetermined area rises above a melting point thereof and causes a surface of at least some of said fibers in the at least one predetermined area to at least partially melt and fuse with each other and thus form at least one solidified thermoplastic matrix in the new fiber layer, and so that the at least one solidified thermoplastic matrix of the new fiber layer at least partially fuses with at least a portion of a solidified thermoplastic matrix of the already-existing, adjacent fiber layer, and repeating steps (i) and (ii) until a three-dimensional shaped body, which is formed in layers with a predetermined contour, is produced.