High Speed Sintering - Early Research into a New Rapid Manufacturing Process

Rapid Manufacturing (the production of end use products by layer manufacturing techniques) has grown significantly in recent years and has started to revolutionise some areas of manufacturing. Among the main drawbacks for commercially available techniques are machine cost and build speed. This paper describes some initial research into a new process called High Speed Sintering. The High Speed Sintering process (UK patent No. 0317387.9) involves the sintering of 2D profiles of layers of powder without the need for a laser. Experiments performed on a simple lab apparatus have shown how the addition of carbon black to standard nylon powder can increase the rate of sintering such that an entire layer may be sintered in 5 seconds using an infra-red lamp. The effects of composition of carbon black on material properties are shown and may be traded off against build speed. Thermal control of the process is vital and the effects of altering the position and power used with an infra-red lamp are presented. Eliminating a laser reduces machine cost and build time, combining these factors will make the High Speed Sintering process suitable for high volume manufacture. Cost predictions show that the process will be viable for the manufacture of standard products in volumes over 100,000.