Evaluating process parameters of SLS part of polyamide-12 recycled powder using RSM

Abstract

Abstract Selective laser sintering (SLS) is a highly flexible rapid prototyping (RP) technology which can use a wide range of powdered materials to generate high quality complex geometries directly from digital models. The SLS process uses a laser to sinter selected areas of powdered materials to produce solid objects layer by layer, according to the 2D data obtained from CT scan or MRI imaging techniques. This paper presents research work for evaluating the effect of process parameters on impact toughness and surface roughness of the part manufactured on Farsoon SS402P SLS from recycled ageing FS 3300PA which is PA-12 based powder and standard operating parameters using Response Surface Methodology (RSM) design of experiments. Impact tests have been performed as per the ASTM D6110 standard using recommendations from ISO 179-2. According to the results, effect of process parameters are successfully analyzed by employing impact toughness and surface roughness tests. Based on the results of the ANOVA analysis, impact toughness increases with increasing laser power (4.467 j/cm2 at 72.5 watts). Similarly, it is also clear from the results that the region with the lowest laser power, high layer thickness, and 90-degree orientation had the lowest surface roughness (3.46 μm).