A Review of Selective Laser Sintering of Wood-Plastic Composites

Eco-friendly wood-plastic composites were firstly proposed to be used as the raw materials of rapid prototyping in 2002, and successfully applied in Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) two years later. These composites were mixed by different kinds of wood powder, plastic powder and other additives. Different from polymer, ceramics, metals and their composites, wood-plastic composites are new types of sustainable and low-price feedstock of SLS. This paper presents the development of the research of wood-plastic composites applied to SLS over the past decade. It contains the preparation and characterizations of wood-plastic composites, the study of temperature fields and molecular dynamics simulation of sintering wood-plastic composites, the effects of processing parameters on the forming accuracy and mechanical properties of sintered parts, and the post-treating process of wood-plastic composite parts. At last, it introduces the application fields of laser sintered wood-plastic composites parts.