TECHNOLOGY/BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY Liquid Metal Binder Jetting (LMBJ)

Summary:

Combining binder jetting and material jetting to enable multi-material additive manufacturing which lowers manufacturing costs.

Opportunity:

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), operated by the Lawrence Livermore National Security (LLNS), LLC under contract no. DE-AC52-07NA27344 (Contract 44) with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), is offering the opportunity to enter into a collaboration to further develop and commercialize its liquid metal binder jetting technology.

Background:

Binder Jetting (BJT) and Material Jetting (MJT) are two of the seven types of 3D printing processes according to ASTM standards.  BJT drops, typically polymer-based, binder on the powder to build layers, while MJT drops the material (e.g., liquid metal) onto the ceramic powder layer to be fused.  BJT involves a post-sintering process that could subject the printed parts to shrinkage.  While BJT is well-known for 3D printing of single-material ceramic or metal bodies, there is a need for a 3D process that can combine the ceramic and metallic phase into a single-step to create complex shaped ceramic-metal composite components.

Description:

This invention, hereby called liquid metal binder jetting (LMBJ), uses a molten metal as the “binder” that is deposited on ceramic powder, resulting in a multi-material fabrication process that includes both the ceramic and metallic phase in the same process.  The simple process involves four steps:

1. Spreading the ceramic powder on the main build plate
2. Depositing molten metal to “bind” selected regions to be 3D printed.
3. Spread a new layer of ceramic powder over the previous layer.
4. Depositing more molten metal to complete the next layer of the 3D printed part.

Advantages/Benefits: 

• Value proposition:  Less manufacturing costs by combining binder jetting with material jetting.
• Multi-material fabrication

Potential Applications: 

• Thermal protection systems
• Hypersonic reentry shielding
• Nuclear shielding

Development Status: 

Current stage of technology development:  TRL 3

LLNL has filed for patent protection on this invention.

LLNL is seeking industry partners with a demonstrated ability to bring such inventions to the market. Moving critical technology beyond the Laboratory to the commercial world helps our licensees gain a competitive edge in the marketplace. All licensing activities are conducted under policies relating to the strict nondisclosure of company proprietary information. 

Please visit the IPO website at https://ipo.llnl.gov/resources for more information on working with LLNL and the industrial partnering and technology transfer process.

Note:  THIS IS NOT A PROCUREMENT.  Companies interested in commercializing LLNL's liquid metal binder jetting should provide an electronic OR written statement of interest, which includes the following:

1. Company Name and address.
2. The name, address, and telephone number of a point of contact.
3. A description of corporate expertise and/or facilities relevant to commercializing this technology.

Please provide a complete electronic OR written statement to ensure consideration of your interest in LLNL's liquid metal binder jetting.

The subject heading in an email response should include the Notice ID and/or the title of LLNL’s Technology/Business Opportunity and directed to the Primary and Secondary Point of Contacts listed below.

Written responses should be directed to:

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

Innovation and Partnerships Office

P.O. Box 808, L-779

Livermore, CA  94551-0808

Attention:   IL-13901