Schlicht S, Greiner S, Drummer D (2022)
Publication Type: Journal article
Publication year: 2022
Book Volume: 14
Article Number: 1428
Issue: 7
Journal Issue: 7
Open Access Link: https://doi.org/10.3390/polym14071428
Powder Bed Fusion of Polymers (PBF-LB/P) is a layer-wise additive manufacturing process that predominantly relies on the quasi-isothermal processing of semi-crystalline polymers, inherently limiting the spectrum of polymers suitable for quasi-isothermal PBF. Within the present paper, a novel approach for extending the isothermal processing window towards significantly lower temperatures by applying the quasi-simultaneous laser-based exposure of fractal scan paths is proposed. The proposed approach is based on the temporal and spatial discretization of the melting and subsequent crystallization of semi-crystalline thermoplastics, hence allowing for the mesoscale compensation of crystallization shrinkage of distinct segments. Using thermographic monitoring, a homogenous temperature increase of discrete exposed sub-segments, limited thermal interference of distinct segments, and the resulting avoidance of curling and warping can be observed. Manufactured parts exhibit a dense and lamellar part morphology with a nano-scale semi-crystalline structure. The presented approach represents a novel methodology that allows for significantly reducing energy consumption, process preparation times and temperature-induced material aging in PBF-LB/P while representing the foundation for the processing of novel, thermo-sensitive material systems in PBF-LB/P.
APA:
Schlicht, S., Greiner, S., & Drummer, D. (2022). Low Temperature Powder Bed Fusion of Polymers by Means of Fractal Quasi-Simultaneous Exposure Strategies. Polymers, 14(7). https://dx.doi.org/10.3390/polym14071428
MLA:
Schlicht, Samuel, Sandra Greiner, and Dietmar Drummer. "Low Temperature Powder Bed Fusion of Polymers by Means of Fractal Quasi-Simultaneous Exposure Strategies." Polymers 14.7 (2022).
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