PA12 Powder Recycled from SLS for FDM.

Li Feng,Yan Wang,Qinya Wei

doi:10.3390/polym11040727

Abstract

In this study, Polyamide 12 (PA12) powder recycled after selective laser sintering (SLS) was made into filaments for fused deposition modelling (FDM). Compared with fresh PA12, the melt flow rate (MFR) of the recycled PA12 powder decreased by 77%, but the mechanical properties were only slightly reduced. In FDM, the printing speed and building orientation were changed, and the performance of the printed parts was tested. If the printing speed is too fast or too slow, the mechanical properties of the parts will be affected, and there is an optimal speed range. The tensile strength, flexural modulus, and impact strength of a printed test sample made from recycled powder reached 95%, 85%, and 87% of an x-direction test sample made from fresh PA12, respectively. For test samples printed from different orientations, the mechanical properties of the test samples printed in the x-direction were the best, while the crystallization performance was the opposite. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) images show that the printed test sample had good compactness and mechanical properties, and the delamination phenomenon was basically not observed.

Highlights

Three-dimensional printing technology ( known as additive manufacturing (AM) technology) is based on 3D model data, and it uses a method of layer-by-layer accumulation of materials to manufacture solid parts, in contrast to traditional removal manufacturing.The process can quickly manufacture complex parts of any shape and structure in a short cycle and achieve individualized manufacturing results [1,2]
The molten thermoplastic filament is extruded through the nozzle, and the extrusion head moves accurately along the contour of each section of the part
Recycled Polyamide 12 (PA12) powder used in this test was supplied by Degussa GmbH, Germany, which was dried at 60 ◦ C for three hours by a conventional air oven and extruded granulated by a SHJ-36 twin-screw extruder (Nanjing GIANT Machinery Co., Ltd., Nanjing, China)

Summary

Introduction

Three-dimensional printing technology ( known as additive manufacturing (AM) technology) is based on 3D model data, and it uses a method of layer-by-layer accumulation of materials to manufacture solid parts, in contrast to traditional removal manufacturing (cutting processing).The process can quickly manufacture complex parts of any shape and structure in a short cycle and achieve individualized manufacturing results [1,2]. Three-dimensional printing technology ( known as additive manufacturing (AM) technology) is based on 3D model data, and it uses a method of layer-by-layer accumulation of materials to manufacture solid parts, in contrast to traditional removal manufacturing (cutting processing). Fused deposition modelling has become an important branch of 3D printing due to its advantages of safety, environmental protection, wide range of materials, high integration, and low cost [6]. The molten thermoplastic filament is extruded through the nozzle, and the extrusion head moves accurately along the contour of each section of the part. The semi-flowing thermoplastic material is extruded, and the deposition is solidified into a precise thin layer of the actual component, overlaid on the built parts and solidified rapidly within 1/10 s to form a layer of material

Objectives

Methods

Results