Methods for passivating metal powder condensate from additive manufacturing processes

Abstract

A method for passivating metal-containing powder condensate and the resulting passivated metal. A metal-containing powder condensate comprising at least one metal is combined with at least one binder and at least one solvent to form a slurry, wherein the solvent only partially dissolves the powder-binder mixture. The resulting slurry is dried to remove excess solvent, forming a passivated metal-binder solid cake.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for passivating metal-containing powder condensate, comprising:
 combining a metal-containing powder condensate and at least one binder to form a powder-binder mixture, wherein the metal-containing powder condensate comprises at least one metal;   combining the powder-binder mixture with at least one solvent to form a slurry, wherein the solvent only partially dissolves the powder-binder mixture; and   drying the slurry to form a passivated metal-binder solid, wherein drying removes excess solvent from the slurry.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one metal is nickel. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the binder is polyvinyl butyral. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the solvent is isopropyl alcohol. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the drying is performed by evaporation.