Selective Separation Sintering for Metallic Part Fabrication

Selective Separation Sintering (SSS) is a powder layer based additive manufacturing approach. In the printing process a dry powder of higher sintering temperature is deposited into the base material which makes up the part. The inserted powder defines the boundary of the part and separates the part from its surroundings. A post sintering of the part is carried out in the furnace where the base material is sintered and the inserted powder remain loose due to its higher sintering temperature. The part is separated from the surrounding redundant material along the loose inserted powder region. A stable deposition rate of S-powder is the key for generating parts of easy separation and smooth surface. Factors that affect the flow rate are analyzed and the analyzed results are implemented to stabilize the process. With the progress in powder deposition rate control, bronze parts have been fabricated which demonstrate good quality.