Two-Dimensional Modeling of Sintering of a Two-Component Metal Powder Layer on Top of Multiple Sintered Layers with a Moving Gaussian Heat Source

Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) of metal powder is modeled as a two-dimensional melting and resolidification of a loose powder layer on top of the sintered metal layers with a moving heat source. The shrinkage induced by melting is accounted for and the problem is modeled using a temperature-transforming model. The results indicate that both the moving heat source intensity and scanning velocity have significant effects on the sintering process. Since the thermal conductivity of the sintered layer is relatively high compared with that of the loose powder, higher heat source intensity and lower scanning velocity are needed to achieve complete melting of the loose powder and bond the current layer to the existing sintered layers. A parametric study is performed and the best combinations of the processing parameters are recommended.