Experimental study of the basic process mechanism for direct selective laser sintering of low-melting metallic powder

Abstract

Due to the still limited mechanical properties of the materials which can be processed using industrially available rapid prototyping techniques, work is currently being undertaken to develop methods of manufacturing metallic prototypes directly. This paper reports on the process development of Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) for direct sintering of bronze as a low-melting metallic powder on a laboratory test facility. The experimental investigations with single spots, lines and layers on the powder bed indicate successful direct sintering of bronze powder without polymer binder or preheating. Besides the process parameters such as laser beam power, scanning speed and hatching distance, material parameters such as particle size distribution exert an influence on the melting behavior and should, therefore, be considered in terms of further process development.