Effect of Bimodal Powder Mixture on Powder Packing Density and Sintered Density in Binder Jetting of Metals

The Binder Jetting Additive Manufacturing process provides an economical and scalable means of fabricating complex metal parts from a wide variety of materials. However, the performance metrics of the resulting sintered parts (e.g., thermal, electrical, and mechanical properties) are typically lower than traditionally manufactured counterparts due to challenges in achieving full theoretical density. This can be attributed to an imposed constraint on particle size and its deleterious effects on powder bed packing density and green part density. To address this issue, the authors explore the use of bimodal powder mixtures to improve the sintered density and material properties within the context of copper parts fabricated by Binder Jetting. The effectiveness of using bimodal powder mixtures in an effort to improve sintered density is studied in terms of particle size distribution and powder packing density.