Effect of Powder Compaction in Plastic Laser Sintering Fabrication

Powder compaction is introduced into plastic laser sintering fabrication. Compaction was carried out by using a roller of which rotation speed is independently controlled of its traversing speed. This additional process improved packing density of powder bed by a factor of 20% and reduced residual porosity of obtained parts by a factor of 30%. As an advantage, powder compaction can improve mechanical strength of parts of semi-crystalline powder, but increases excessive sinter to reduce fabrication accuracy especially in fabrication of amorphous plastic. This paper presents characteristics of the powder compaction process itself and its effects on performance of obtained parts.