Understanding the consolidation mechanism of selective laser sintering/powder bed selective laser process of ceramics: Hydroxyapatite case
Abstract
Purpose
The consolidation process and morphology evolution in ceramics-based additive manufacturing (AM) are still not well-understood. As a way to better understand the ceramic selective laser sintering (SLS), a dynamic three-dimensional computational model was developed to forecast thermal behavior of hydroxyapatite (HA) bioceramic.
Design/methodology/approach
AM has revolutionized automotive, biomedical and aerospace industries, among many others. AM provides design and geometric freedom, rapid product customization and manufacturing flexibility through its layer-by-layer technique. However, a very limited number of materials are printable because of rapid melting and solidification hysteresis. Melting-solidification dynamics in powder bed fusion are usually correlated with welding, often ignoring the intrinsic properties of the laser irradiation; unsurprisingly, the printable materials are mostly the well-known weldable materials.
Findings
The consolidation mechanism of HA was identified during its processing in a ceramic SLS device, then the effect of the laser energy density was studied to see how it affects the processing window. Premature sintering and sintering regimes were revealed and elaborated in detail. The full consolidation beyond sintering was also revealed along with its interaction to baseplate.
Originality/value
These findings provide important insight into the consolidation mechanism of HA ceramics, which will be the cornerstone for extending the range of materials in laser powder bed fusion of ceramics.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No 764935.
Citation
Ur Rehman, A., Navarrete-Segado, P., Salamci, M.U., Frances, C., Tourbin, M. and Grossin, D. (2024), "Understanding the consolidation mechanism of selective laser sintering/powder bed selective laser process of ceramics: Hydroxyapatite case", Rapid Prototyping Journal, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/RPJ-04-2023-0128
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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