The Impact of Employing Different Quality PA2200 Powder Grades to Shrinkage on Sintered Part in Selective Laser Sintering Process

Abstract

One of the challenges which Laser Sintering faces is the Rapid Manufacturing of plastic parts with good consistent quality. This is due to the fact that plastic powder properties deteriorate during the long periods of time through the LS building and cooling cycles. This paper presents an experimental study of the deterioration or ageing of PA12 powder properties in the LS process. The influences of different grades of recycled PA12 powders are investigated. The main aim of this research is to develop a methodology of controlling the input material properties that will ensure consistent and good quality of the fabricated parts. From the experiment it was found that PA12 powder with high melt flow rate, low melting temperature, low glass transition temperature and low degree of crystallization temperature could improve the sintering process to produce a good Laser Sintering (LS) parts with lower shrinkage rate.