US Patent 7097729 Method for making mechanical parts by decomposition into layers

A method for making mechanical parts and objects, in particular, prototype parts and objects, from a specific computer-assisted design includes the successive steps of making the parts in elementary layers or strata, reconstructing an assembly of the layers, and assembling the layers. The layers are derived from a previous decomposition of the part along specific planes and in one or several step(s). The unit layers determined by the decomposition of the part include a central portion (8), which effectively corresponds to a layer having the shape and thickness desired for the finished part, an outer portion (11) of substantially the same thickness, surrounding at least portions of the central portion, and frangible bridges (10) linking the central portion (8) and the outer portion (11) together.