Abstract
The Selective Laser Sintering Process of
 thermoplastics (SLS) enables the manufacturing of
 components with complex shape in a short time period
 without the manufacturing of a specific mold. However, this
 manufacturing process is limited by the restricted range of
 materials. In contrast to this primary shaping process,
 vacuum casting allows a quick, inexpensive and highly
 accurate process but it is limited to the reproduction of
 already existing models. In a novel rapid tooling method,
 these two processes are combined. Thus, silicone parts can
 be manufactured using SLS molds. The manufacturing of
 elastomeric parts in the vacuum casting process using SLS
 molds is being investigated. Therefore, the adhesion of
 silicone to the SLS mold, as well as the resulting mechanical
 properties of the elastomeric parts are investigated. The combination of the SLS process and the vacuum casting process allows the rapid manufacturing of complex elastomeric parts with sufficient mechanical
 properties. The surface roughness of the SLS mold influences the adhesion of the casting material to the mold, as well as the mechanical properties of the manufactured elastomeric components. The synergy of using selective laser sintered molds with the vacuum casting technique displays a
 novel rapid manufacturing method.
Highlights
The selective Laser Sintering process with thermoplastics (SLS) was developed and patented by Dr Carl Deckhard in 1989
The combination of the SLS process for manufacturing molds with the vacuum casting technique provides the possibility of extending the material spectrum for manufacturing complex parts for medical applications
Due to the increased surface roughness and the resulting notching effect the manufactured tensile bars show a significantly lower strain at break compared to the compact material as given in the supplier’s data
Summary
The selective Laser Sintering process with thermoplastics (SLS) was developed and patented by Dr Carl Deckhard in 1989. It provides the possibility to manufacture complex shaped parts directly from CAD data in short time. In the process polymer powder is distributed layer wise and subsequently the two-dimensional part shape is melted using a CO-laser. The building platform lowers the height of one layer and the process repeats until the part is finished [1], Fig 1. After the manufacturing and the subsequent cool down to room temperature, the parts can be extracted from the remaining powder. A post process sand blasting is applied in order to remove leftover powder from the SLS parts [2, 3]
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