Influence of Process Time and Geometry on Part Quality of Low Temperature Laser Sintering

The authors are developing a novel laser sintering process that prevents parts from warping by anchoring them to a rigid base plate. Since the powder bed temperature of the process is normally lower than in the standard process, the laser is required to supply more energy in the novel process, namely low temperature process. Accordingly, the part quality is more sensitive to laser parameters. Additionally, accumulation and dispersion of energy which is supplied by the laser through layers plays an important role in the consolidation of the powder. Thus, in low temperature process, parameter relating part geometry and time affects the part quality more than in standard high temperature process. In this research, the influence of part size and process time per layer on the density of parts as a primary index of part quality is investigated. Density decreases as the process time per layer increases. With respect to part size, density increases as parts become larger.