Method and apparatus for making products by sintering and/or melting

摘要

The invention relates to a method for making metallic and/or non-metallic products 2 , in particular dental products, by freeform sintering and/or melting, in which the products 2 are fabricated layer by layer from a material 5 that is applied layer by layer by means of a computer-controlled high-energy beam 7 , in particular a laser or electron beam. In order to reduce production times, beam 7 irradiates predetermined positions P 1 to P 6 of a layer of a material 5 a plurality of time, namely m times, where m is a whole integer greater than 1. Each of said positions P 1 to P 6 is initially heated during the first irradiation to a temperature below the melting point T_melt of the material 5 , and during the mth irradiation to a temperature above said melting point and is completely melted over the entire thickness of the layer in such a way that the material ( 5 ) fuses at said position to the layer thereunder. The invention also relates to an apparatus for performing said method.