Optimization of selective laser sintering process parameters to achieve the maximum density and hardness in polyamide parts

Abstract

Density and hardness of selective laser-sintered parts are influenced by the different sintering parameters. The selection of sintering parameters plays a vital role to achieve the high precision of end use functional parts. These parts are widely used in the industries such as automobile, aerospace, and for medical applications [Sustarsic et al. (Mater Manuf Process 24:837–841, 2009), Shah et al. (Mater Manuf Process 25:1372–1380, 2010)]. In this study, laser power, scan spacing, bed temperature, hatch length, and scan count were the parameters taken into account for experimentation. Face-centered central composite design was used as a statistical design of experiment technique to set the optimal laser sintering parameters. A relationship between these parameters had also been developed with the generation of different mathematical models. The adequacies of these models were confirmed using analysis of variance. The study concluded that laser power, scan spacing, bed temperature, and hatch length have higher influence on density and hardness of polyamide laser-sintered parts. Among these parameters, scan spacing is the most significant parameter for both density and hardness measures. Laser power—24.05 mm, scan spacing—0.1 mm, bed temperature—173.65 °C, hatch length—114.64 mm, and scan count—2 are the optimum levels to maximize the density and hardness.