Patent ID: 8521319

Claim:
A method for producing a housing shell or an ear mold to be worn in an ear, the method which comprises: providing CAD data of a three-dimensional shape of the housing shell or ear mold to be produced; providing CAD data of a three-dimensional shape of a prefabricated component to be connected to the housing shell or ear mold; subjecting the three-dimensional shape of the prefabricated component and the three-dimensional shape of the housing shell or ear mold to virtual positioning relative to one another; generating a three-dimensional data record of the three-dimensional shape of the prefabricated component integrated in the three-dimensional shape of the housing shell or ear mold based on the virtual positioning; loading the three dimensional data record into a rapid prototyping instrument; providing the prefabricated component and mounting the prefabricated component on a support in a container of the rapid prototyping instrument for forming the housing shell or ear mold by a rapid prototyping process, the prefabricated component being formed with at least one attachment or recess for generating a permanent interlocking connection with at least one corresponding attachment or recess of an inverted construction in the housing shell or ear mold, at least one of the attachment or the prefabricated component being formed, partially or completely, of transparent material for being transilluminated in regions of the attachment or recess during production of the housing shell or ear mold for allowing the housing shell or ear mold to be built up in a region otherwise shadowed from a laser beam by the prefabricated component; providing the support with positioning aids; automatically recognizing the position of the support and the prefabricated component based on the positioning aids; penetrating the laser beam through the transparent material to cure a liquid in the container in the regions otherwise shadowed by the attachment or prefabricated component; and building the housing shell or ear mold with the rapid prototyping process and thereby embedding the prefabricated component at least partly.