Preparation and selective laser sintering of nyloncoated metal powders for the indirect SLS process

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to report a new method, the dissolutionprecipitation process, to prepare nyloncoated metal powders for the indirect selective laser sintering SLS process. Designmethodologyapproach The nylon12 coated carbon steel powders were prepared by the dissolutionprecipitation process. The powder characteristics are examined by scanning electron microscope SEM and laser diffraction particle size analysis. The effect of the applied laser energy density on the threepoint bend strength and dimensional accuracy of the SLS specimens are studied. The influence of nylon12 content on the bend strength are also investigated. Findings The SEM and laser diffraction particle size analysis results indicate that the steel particles are well coated by nylon12 resin. The bend strength of the SLS specimens increases with increasing the applied energy density until it reaches a maximum value, and then further increasing energy density will cause the decrease in the bend strength. The bend strength of the SLS specimens increases with increasing the nylon12 content over the investigated range. The dimensional errors in the XYand Zdirections are all increased with the increase in energy density. Research limitationsimplications This paper only concerns the preparation and SLS of the coated powders. Further investigations are planned into postprocessing, such as binder decomposition and hightemperature sintering, of the green parts made from the coated powders. Originalityvalue This paper provides a useful method for preparing nyloncoated metal powders for making metal parts by the indirect SLS process.