A selective laser sintering technique and system are provided for
producing a heterogeneous product. The selective laser sintering
technique and system is generally comprised of generating a computer
model of the product and processing the model to obtain numerous
cross-sectional representations of the model. The cross-sectional
representations are manufactured layer by layer to create the product.
Specifically, numerous different powders having a variety of properties
are placed within nozzles positioned above a deposition bed using a
hopper. Using the computer model as a guide, the different powders are
placed at different positions on the deposition bed to form each layer of
the device. The deposited powders are consolidated, micromachined, and
milled using one or more lasers to create the product. Using this
selective laser sintering technique a wide variety of heterogenous
products may be produced, such as the following: 1) bio-implants, 2)
small scale energy production, storage and conversion devices, 3) devices
that exploit anomalous material behavior, and 4) nanocomposites.