Lockheed Martin Files Patent for Diamond 3D Printer

Aerospace and defence company Lockheed Martin has filed a patent application for 3D printing diamonds.

The application titled “3-D diamond printing using a pre-ceramic polymer with nanoparticle filler” describes a process that uses carbon-based pre-ceramic polymers such as poly(hydridocarbyne) or poly(methylsilyne), that are similar to diamonds in their structure.

Diamond is the hardest natural material known and is formed at high temperature and pressure deep in the Earth’s mantle, while there are also methods to produce the material synthetically. The method described in the patent includes depositing alternating layers of a ceramic powder and a pre-ceramic polymer dissolved in a solvent.

Each layer of the pre-ceramic polymer is deposited in a shape corresponding to a cross section of an object. The alternating layers of the ceramic powder and the pre-ceramic polymer are deposited until the layers of the pre-ceramic polymer form the shape of the object. The method includes heating the deposited ceramic powder and pre-ceramic polymer to at least a decomposition temperature of the pre-ceramic polymer. The decomposition temperature of the pre-ceramic polymer is less than a sintering temperature of the ceramic powder. The method further includes removing excess ceramic powder that the pre-ceramic polymer was not deposited onto.

The patent includes the following illustration of a 3D printer capable of producing the structures:

Lockheed Martin hasn’t made any statement when or if the diamond 3D printer will become a reality. Due to its hardness and thermal resistance, diamond is an excellent thermal conductor and electrical insulator, thus the company intends to print objects including drill bits, saws, knives and other objects with high strength and complex geometries.