Selective Laser Sintering Rapid Prototyping Research Articles

A critical study and analysis of process parameters of selective laser sintering Rapid prototyping

In the Rapid Prototyping process, surface finish is very critical as it affects the part quality. As Rapid Prototyping is moving towards Rapid manufacturing there is an increasing stress on obtaining good quality parts. Surface finish of Rapid Prototyping parts is becoming more and more important with more parts being used for end purposes. Good surface finish is required for better functionality and look, but also for cost reduction in terms of reducing post-processing expenditure. A critical study and analysis of process parameters behaviour has been carried out for assessing the surface quality of parts manufactured on Selective Laser Sintering Rapid Prototyping system. The principal concern of experimental work has been investigated for achieving better surface finish by which the life of parts is governed. The primary objective of study is to analyze the optimum process parameters of Selective Laser Sintering Rapid Prototyping system. The material selected for study is “Dura Form“ and experimental work was carried out on selective laser sintering rapid prototyping machine DTM Vanguard 2500. Taguchi method is used to investigate the parameters and results are improved by using signal-to-noise methods. The major process parameters selected for study were Part Orientation, Laser Power and Scan Spacing. The study and analysis depict that Part Orientation has a major effect on the surface roughness of the part produced on Rapid Prototyping Machine. It has been observed from the study that lower value of Part Orientation level I (0 degree) gives better finish and this is because of less number of layers required for manufacturing of part. It has been observed from the study of second process parameter i.e. Laser Power that the surface finish was better at 16 W. Similarly, the surface finish obtained at lower values of Scan Spacing was for better as compared to higher values of Scan Spacing. The comparative analysis of three-process parameter indicates that the effects of variation of Part Orientation and Scan Spacing parameters are more as compare to Laser Power.

Research on the Design of the Laser Beam in SLS Rapid Prototyping Machine

Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) is an HYPERLINK "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Additive_manufacturing" \o "Additive manufacturing" additive manufacturing (AM) technique that uses a HYPERLINK "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laser" \o "Laser" Laser as the power source to HYPERLINK "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sintering" \o "Sintering" sinter powdered material, typically HYPERLINK "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nylon" \o "Nylon" nylon/ HYPERLINK "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyamide" \o "Polyamide" polyamide HYPERLINK "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selective_laser_sintering" \l "cite_note-1" [7], HYPERLINK "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selective_laser_sintering" \l "cite_note-2" [8]. A Laser beam HYPERLINK "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automation" \o "Automation" automatically aims at points in space defined by a HYPERLINK "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3D_modeling" \o "3D modeling" 3D model, binding the material together to create a solid structure. In the SLS rapid prototype machine, a high power CO2 Laser sources is applied for sintering the powder material to its melting point temperature. The ability of application of a Laser radiation for sintering the material depends on the power of energy source and the time of interaction of radiation with the material of the product. Otherwise, the design of Laser beam for sintering powder material depends on the technical parameters such as power Laser source, Laser point size, type and focus of lenses.... This article presents a study on the design of our own Laser beam sintering in the SLS rapid prototype that satisfies the technical requirements. The results of testing show that the designed and manufactured Laser beam instrument in SLS rapid prototype machine in our laboratory can be approved because it satisfies all the technological requirements of the medium range of SLS rapid prototyping machine.

Research on Powder Spreading Property Improvement of Wood-Plastic Composite SLS Rapid Prototyping Process

In this paper, powder spreading property in Wood-Plastic Composite(WPC) Selective Laser Sintering(SLS) rapid prototyping(RP) process is studied. WPC is more suitable for make parts by SLS according to its advantages, such as low-cost and green biological etc.. But as wood power is mainly composed of wood fiber and wood fibers have irregular shapes, easy to aggregate and block power spreading process, spreading powder uniformly on bed by leveling roller is difficult, resulting in bad shape quality of parts. In order to further improve powder spreading property of RP process, with optimal design of components, viscosity reducer calcium is added into WPC. Finally, as result of better powder spreading property, shape quality of the parts made by WPC is improved greatly and have good as well as with good laser sintering properties.