Effects of various processing parameters on the mechanical properties of sisal fiber/PES composites produced via selective laser sintering

Abstract

A new type of sustainable material, i.e., a sisal fiber/poly-ether sulfone composite (SFPC), which is energy-efficient, environmentally friendly, and has a low cost, was developed for laser sintering additive manufacturing. This study was performed to explore the effects of the processing parameters on the SFPC composite parts produced via selective laser sintering (SLS). The effects of the laser sintering processing parameters, i.e., the preheating temperature, laser power, and scan speed, were studied. Bending and tensile testing of the SFPC specimens was successfully performed via SLS. The effect of the processing parameters on the SLS in terms of the mechanical strength of the laser-sintered parts was investigated. The results determined that the processing parameters had a significant effect on the mechanical strength of the sintered SFPC parts. When the preheating temperature and laser power were increased in the processing SLS system, the mechanical strength of the sintered SFPC parts was significantly increased. However, the scanning speed had an inverse proportional relationship to the mechanical strength of the SFPC SLS parts.