Patent ID: 6866807

Claim:
A method of forming a three-dimensional object in a fused deposition modeling machine which includes a liquifier having an inner diameter d L and which receives a feedstock of solid modeling material and deposits melted material in roads of width W and height L, the method comprising the steps of: using as the modeling material feedstock a filament having an average diameter <d F > according to the relationship 0.84 d L <<d F ><d L −6σ F and a standard deviation σ F of: σ F ≤ 2 ⁢ LWS s 3 ⁢ π < ⁢ d F > Δ ⁢ ⁢ S g where S S is a maximum allowable seam gap at a junction of two roads, and ΔS g is expected average movement of a meniscus within the liquifier.