APPLICATION OF LASER SINTERED PARTS IN AEROSPACE PRODUCTION

摘要

Laser Sintering, a method of additive manufacturing, is used in the production of conceptrnmodels, functional prototypes, and end-use production parts. As the technology has transitionedrnfrom a product development tool to an accepted production technique, functional qualities havernbecome increasingly important. Tension properties reported for popular polyamide sinteringrnmaterials are comparable to the molded properties with the exception of elongation at break.rnReported strains for laser sintered polyamide are in the 15-30% range with 200-400% strainsrnreported for typical injection molded specimens.rnThis work looks at statistical sampling of mechanical properties recorded for various productionrnruns of laser sintered direct manufacturing parts. A study of the primary contributors to poorrnmechanical properties in polyamide materials used during laser sintering will also be presented.rnMethods to quantify decreased mechanical properties are compared against each other andrnagainst mechanical properties of components fabricated using multiple process parameters. Ofrnprimary interest are Ultimate Tensile Strength (UTS) and Elongation at Break (EOB) of tensilernspecimens fabricated under conditions that produce varying degrees of ductile and brittlernfracture.