Joining mechanisms and mechanical properties of PA composites obtained by selective laser sintering

Purpose – Additive manufacturing is today a viable industrial solution alongside traditional processes. Techniques like selective laser sintering (SLS) address the issues of digital production and mass customization in a variety of materials. Composite parts can be obtained with specific functional and mechanical properties. Building orientation during additive manufacturing often causes anisotropy of parts' properties that is still unspecified in technical information. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the mechanical performances and failure mechanisms of an aluminium‐filled polyamide and of a new alumina‐polyamide composite produced by SLS, in comparison with unfilled PA.Design/methodology/approach – A specific focus is set on the evaluation of primary and secondary anisotropy in the case of metal or ceramic filler, as well as on the specific contribution of powder distribution modes and joining phenomena. Macroscopic mechanical tests and the observation of joining and failure micro‐mechanisms...

[1]  P. McHugh,et al.  Dependence of mechanical properties of polyamide components on build parameters in the SLS process , 2007 .

[2]  Jerry Y. H. Fuh,et al.  The influence of powder apparent density on the density in direct laser-sintered metallic parts , 2007 .

[3]  Andrea Gatto,et al.  Mechanical characterisation of PA‐Al2O3 composites obtained by selective laser sintering , 2010 .

[4]  Amir Faghri,et al.  Melting of a subcooled mixed powder bed with constant heat flux heating , 1999 .

[5]  Gabriel Bugeda Miguel Cervera,et al.  Numerical prediction of temperature and density distributions in selective laser sintering processes , 1999 .

[6]  Carl Deckard,et al.  Advances in modeling the effects of selected parameters on the SLS process , 1998 .

[7]  I. Gibson,et al.  Material properties and fabrication parameters in selective laser sintering process , 1997 .

[8]  Sang-Gil Ryu,et al.  Development of a composite suitable for rapid prototype machining , 2001 .

[9]  Syed H. Masood,et al.  Development of new metal/polymer materials for rapid tooling using Fused deposition modelling , 2004 .

[10]  Paolo Minetola,et al.  Design and production of fixtures for free‐form components using selective laser sintering , 2007 .

[11]  R.D.K. Misra,et al.  On the strain rate sensitivity of high density polyethylene and polypropylenes , 2003 .

[12]  L. Froyen,et al.  Lasers and materials in selective laser sintering , 2002 .

[13]  J. Kruth,et al.  Selective laser melting of biocompatible metals for rapid manufacturing of medical parts , 2006 .