Material optimization for selective laser sintering process

Abstract

Nowadays to produce better quality products with less cost shorter lead times more customer delights have become the key requirements to remain competitive in the global market To fulfill these requirements Additive Manufacturing provides a technological tool for making solid free form products Selective Laser Sintering is one of the AM techniques using a wide range of materials developed by various groups of technology for producing high strength parts with good aesthetic quality satisfying the customer needs To make this technology viable more investigation is required to improve the properties of fabricated parts its accuracy and development of new materials for various applications Currently limited materials are available with a very high cost that impedes growing number of applications of AM This is particularly true of the Selective Laser Sintering process In order for that process to be competitive and become a strong candidate for new applications such as rapid manufacturing the material used needs to be improved The aim of the work presented in this thesis are material optimization for Selective Laser Sintering process primarily by appropriate selection of existing available SLS material based on properties requirements of applications and then setting optimal fabricating parameters to achieve better part properties and secondly by developing newer composite materials made up of PA2200 Polyamide 12 a common SLS material and ceramic additives Aluminum Oxide, Magnesium Oxide and Nanoclay separately each inexpensive additives for the purpose of improving the flammability property and mechanical properties as well as reducing the cost of the sintered components newlineAn experimental study was conducted for the powder characterization and thermal properties of the ceramic additives Aluminum Oxide, Magnesium Oxide and Nanoclay separately each with PA2200 composite materials with different proportions 0-15w percentage of ceramic additives Aluminum Oxide Magnesium Oxide and Nanoclay and PA2200