Characterization of polymer materials and powders for selective laser melting

Language
en
Document Type
Article
Issue Date
2014-06-23
Issue Year
2014
Authors
Wudy, Katrin
Drummer, Dietmar
Drexler, Maximilian
Editor
Abstract

Concerning individualization, the requirements to products have increased. The trend towards individualized serial products faces manufacturing techniques with demands of increasing flexibility. Additive manufacturing techniques generate components directly out of a CAD data set while requiring no specific tool or form. Due to this additive manufacturing processes comply, in opposite to conventional techniques, with these increased demands on processing technology. With a variety of available additive manufacturing techniques, some of them have a high potential to generate series products with reproducible properties. Selective laser melting (SLM) of powder materials shows the highest potential for this application. If components made by SLM are desired to be applied in technical series products, their achievable properties play a major part. These properties are mainly determined by the processed materials. The range of present commercially available materials for SLM of polymer powders is limited. This paper shows interrelations of various material properties to create a basic understanding of sintering processes and additional qualifying new materials. Main properties of polymer materials, with regard to their consolidation are viscosity and surface energy. On the one hand the difference of the surface energy between powder and melt influences, the wetting behavior, and thus the penetration depth. On the other hand, a high surface tension is fundamental for good coalescence of bordering particles. To fulfill these requirements limits of the surface tension will be determined on the basis of a reference material. For these reason methods for determining surface tension of solids, powders and melts are analyzed, to carry out a possible process-related material characterization. Not only an insight into observed SLM phenomena is provided but also hints concerning suitable material selection.

Journal Title
AIP Conference Proceedings
Volume
1593
Citation

AIP Conference Proceedings 1593 (2014):S. 702-707. 23.05.2014 http://scitation.aip.org/content/aip/proceeding/aipcp/10.1063/1.4873875

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