Sustainable powders for laser-assisted additive manufacturing
Abstract
Sustainable materials are being used more commonly with additive manufacturing (AM) technique to
enable the manufacture of functional products in a sustainable and economically efficient way [1]. Selective
laser sintering (SLS), is an AM technique that shows potential in fusing and solidifying biomass powders into
3D porous materials, paving the way in technical applications [2, 3]. However, because of the low thermal
stability of biomass under laser sintering, petroleum thermoplastic polymers, such as nylon, are often mixed
with biomass powders to increase their processability for SLS applications [4]. In this latter situation, the
interfacial interactions between biomass powder and thermoplastic remain one of the most important
challenges that need to be addressed [5]. It is therefore important to develop a method that enables SLS
printing of biomass powders directly.
In this work, we have developed an AM process for biomass powders using a laser sintering process with a
commercial CO2 laser. The laser system is equipped with a chamber that has nitrogen flowing through it to
prevent combustion of the powder. By using a layer-by-layer deposition technique, followed by laser
sintering, a 3D structure can be directly printed from vegetal waxes and lignocellulosic composite powders.
The morphological, chemical, and mechanical properties of the prepared 3D structures have been
characterised by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FTIR) and
dynamic mechanical thermal analysis (DMTA). The processability of wax powders with different particle
sizes has been studied. This method is simple and requires no additional chemical or physical process, and it
is potentially scalable for industrial applications.
Domains
Engineering Sciences [physics]Origin | Files produced by the author(s) |
---|