@article{StichelGeisslerJanderetal., author = {Stichel, Thomas and Geißler, Bastian and Jander, Julius and Laumer, Tobias and Frick, Thomas and Roth, Stephan}, title = {Electrophotographic multi-material powder deposition for additive manufacturing}, series = {Journal of Laser Applications}, volume = {30}, journal = {Journal of Laser Applications}, number = {3}, publisher = {AIP Publishing}, doi = {10.2351/1.5040619}, abstract = {In this paper, the use of electrophotographic polymer powder transfer for the preparation of multi-material layers is discussed with respect to the application in powder bed-based additive manufacturing technologies as selective laser sintering (SLS). Therefore, the challenges of this task are considered verifying the critical process steps in order to develop a concept for an electrophotograhic laser sintering machine. On that basis, an experimental setup with a two-chamber design is realized which enables the investigation of the electrophotographic powder transfer at typical process conditions of SLS. Using this setup, transfer tests of polypropylene powder patterns were performed and qualitatively analyzed by photographic imaging. The results confirm the high potential of the application of electrophotography for multi-material powder deposition and show how a residual electrophotographic powder deposition can be achieved in general, which is independent from the already produced part height, in order to build up three-dimensional multi-material components.}, language = {en} } @article{StichelLaumerLinnenweberetal., author = {Stichel, Thomas and Laumer, Tobias and Linnenweber, Tim and Amend, Philipp and Roth, Stephan}, title = {Mass Flow Characterization of Selective Deposition of Polymer Powders with Vibrating Nozzles for Laser Beam Melting of Multi-material Components}, series = {Physics Procedia}, volume = {83}, journal = {Physics Procedia}, publisher = {Elsevier}, address = {Amsterdam [u.a.]}, issn = {1875-3892}, doi = {10.1016/j.phpro.2016.08.099}, pages = {947 -- 953}, abstract = {The generation of multi-material components by laser beam melting (LBM) is a challenge which requires the invention of new coating devices for preparation of arbitrary powder patterns. One solution is the usage of vibration-controlled nozzles for selective deposition of polymer powders. Powder flow can be initiated by vibration enabling a start-stop function without using any mechanical shutter. In this report, the delivery of polymer powder by vibrating nozzles is investigated with respect to their application in LBM machines. Therefore, a steel nozzle attached to a piezo actor and a weighing cell is used in order to measure the stability and time-dependence of the powder mass flow upon vibration excitation with the usage of different kind of powder formulations. The results show that precompression of the powder inside the nozzle by vibration excitation is essential to realize a reliable start-stop function with reproducible discharge cyles and to prevent a initial flush of powder flow. Moreover, the use of different powder materials showed that mass flow is even possible with powders which are not optimized regarding flowability, but is readily enhanced with a factor of 2 to 3 by admixing Aerosil® fumed silica.}, language = {en} } @inproceedings{StichelAmendLaumeretal., author = {Stichel, Thomas and Amend, Philipp and Laumer, Tobias and Roth, Stephan}, title = {Electrostatic Multi-Material Powder Deposition for Simultaneous Laser Beam Melting}, series = {International Conference on Information, Communication and Automation Technologies (ICAT), 2014, Wien}, booktitle = {International Conference on Information, Communication and Automation Technologies (ICAT), 2014, Wien}, abstract = {In this paper, the use of electrostatic polymer powder transfer methods for the preparation of multi-material layers is discussed with respect to the application in Simultaneous Laser Beam Melting (SLBM). Therefore, the basic principles of the single process steps as well as the challenges in combination with SLBM are considered verifying the critical process steps. On that base, process concepts are developed which might enable the fabrication of high quality multi-material parts in the future. Moreover, since the polymer powders typically used with Laser Beam Melting differ strongly from common toners for e. g. electrophotographic printing, an experimental setup was built to study the powder transfer with an electrically chargeable transfer plate using polyamide 12 powder. The results of this study show that transfer of powders usable for Laser Beam Melting can be achieved, but depends on the electric field strength which is a function of the gap between transfer and substrate plate and the intermediate electric potential.}, language = {en} } @article{StichelAmendLaumeretal., author = {Stichel, Thomas and Amend, Philipp and Laumer, Tobias and Roth, Stephan}, title = {Polymer Powder Deposition using Vibrating Capillary Nozzles for Additive Manufacturing}, series = {Information, Communication and Automation Technologies (ICAT), 2014, Wien}, journal = {Information, Communication and Automation Technologies (ICAT), 2014, Wien}, abstract = {Abstract — In this report, the dry delivery of polyamide 12 (PA 12) powder for the preparation of powder layers in laser beam melting (LBM) is investigated. Therefore, an experimental setup was built which consists of a glass nozzle assembled on a piezo-electric actuator. By applying a sinusoidal voltage signal to the actuator, the nozzle is set into vibration mode which enhances the powder delivery through the nozzle. By using this effect, powder mass flow is controlled and a valve-like start and stop function is realized. In order to identify suitable process parameters, a broad range of vibration modes were investigated using two nozzles made from glass with different orifice diameters. Therefore, the vibration frequency and the voltage signal of the actuator were varied and the resulting mass flow was detected by a balance. It was found that both the frequency and the voltage signal affect the mass flow and its stability but with different impact. Moreover, powder lines were deposited with different velocities in order to characterize the setup regarding applicability for highly selective powder deposition for LBM.}, language = {en} } @article{StichelLaumerBaumuelleretal., author = {Stichel, Thomas and Laumer, Tobias and Baum{\"u}ller, Tobias and Amend, Philipp and Roth, Stephan}, title = {Powder Layer Preparation Using Vibration-controlled Capillary Steel Nozzles for Additive Manufacturing}, series = {Physics Procedia}, volume = {56}, journal = {Physics Procedia}, publisher = {Elsevier}, issn = {1875-3892}, doi = {10.1016/j.phpro.2014.08.158}, pages = {157 -- 166}, abstract = {In this report, the dry delivery of polyamide 12 powders by vibrating capillary steel nozzles is investigated and discussed regarding its potential for powder layer preparation in Laser Beam Melting. Therefore, a setup including a steel nozzle assembled on a piezoelectric actuator is presented, which enables the precise control over very small powder quantities by vibration excitation. An analysis reveals that the mass flow through the nozzle can be adjusted by the vibration modes in a certain range depending on the nozzle's specifications, whereas the vibration modes themselves show a complicated behaviour. Using a positioning system in combination with the vibrating nozzle, single-layer patterns consisting of polyamide 12 are produced and characterized regarding surface homogeneity and selectivity using a laser stripe sensor.}, language = {en} } @inproceedings{StichelAmendLaumeretal., author = {Stichel, Thomas and Amend, Philipp and Laumer, Tobias and Roth, Stephan}, title = {Multi-material deposition of polymer powders with vibrating nozzles inside laser beam melting machines}, series = {6th International Conference on Additive Technologies - iCAT 2016 : proceedings : N{\"u}rnberg, Germany, 29.-30. November 2016}, booktitle = {6th International Conference on Additive Technologies - iCAT 2016 : proceedings : N{\"u}rnberg, Germany, 29.-30. November 2016}, publisher = {Interesansa - zavod}, address = {Ljubljana}, abstract = {The generation of multi-material components using Laser beam melting (LBM) is a challenge which requires the invention of new coating devices for the preparation of arbitrary powder patterns. One solution is the usage of vibration-controlled nozzles for selective deposition of polymer powders. Powder flow can be initiated by vibration even when using powders with low flowability. In this report, the selective deposition of polymer powder by vibrating nozzles is investigated with respect to their application in LBM machines. Therefore, a steel nozzle attached to a piezo actor is applied, whereas the nozzle itself features internal channels which allow the precise control of the powder temperature using heat transfer oil. The setup is used to study the influence of temperature on the powder mass flow. The results show that, next to the vibration mode, the temperature strongly influences the powder mass flow which is done by affecting the moisture and thus the particle-particle adhesion forces. This shows that a precise control of the powder temperature inside the nozzle is required in order to achieve a constant mass flow and thus a successful application of vibrating nozzles inside LBM machines.}, language = {en} } @inproceedings{LaumerStichelAmendetal., author = {Laumer, Tobias and Stichel, Thomas and Amend, Philipp and Roth, Stephan and Schmidt, Michael}, title = {Analysis of Temperature Gradients during Simultaneous Laser Beam Melting of Polymers}, series = {Physics Procedia}, volume = {56}, booktitle = {Physics Procedia}, publisher = {Elsevier}, doi = {10.1016/j.phpro.2014.08.159}, pages = {167 -- 175}, abstract = {By simultaneous laser beam melting (SLBM), different polymer powders can be processed to multi-material parts, which offers the potential to enlarge the field of application for conventional LBM. In a SLBM process, a powder bed consisting of different polymers and therefore with different melting and crystallization temperatures is deposited. Besides the use of infrared emitters for preheating the lower melting polymer, a CO2 laser distributes the necessary preheating temperature of the higher melting polymer. In the last step, a thulium fibre laser distributes the energy necessary for melting the two preheated powders simultaneously. In order to analyze the temperature gradients of the process on the powder surface and in deeper layers, a high-resolution thermal imaging system and thermocouples are used.}, language = {en} } @inproceedings{LaumerRothSticheletal., author = {Laumer, Tobias and Roth, Stephan and Stichel, Thomas and Schmidt, Michael}, title = {Strategien zur Erzeugung von dreidimensionalen Multi-Material-Bauteilen}, series = {4. Industriekolloquium des Sonderforschungsbereichs 814 - Additive Fertigung 814, 2015, N{\"u}rnberg}, booktitle = {4. Industriekolloquium des Sonderforschungsbereichs 814 - Additive Fertigung 814, 2015, N{\"u}rnberg}, organization = {Friedrich-Alexander-Universit{\"a}t Erlangen-N{\"u}rnberg, Sonderforschungsbereich 814 Additive Fertigung}, isbn = {978-3931864651}, language = {de} }