Development of PA6/GO microspheres with good processability for SLS 3D printing

Abstract

The particle size and processability of the powder are the keys for successful nylon in selective laser sintering (SLS) 3D printing, but the nylon powders on the market have disadvantages such as uncontrollable particle size and large distribution, poor sphericity, and poor processability. In this study, graphene oxidehybridized polyamide 6 (PA6/GO) microspheres perfectly suitable for SLS 3D printing have been fabricated via reaction-induced phase separation. The selective distribution of GO in PA6 microspheres was characterized by thermogravimetric (TG) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and the particle size and morphology of PA6/GO microspheres could be effectively controlled by adjusting the ratio of caprolactam and polystyrene. Wherein, when the polystyrene addition amount is 15 wt%, the particle size of the PA6/GO microspheres is between 40 and 50 μm, and the sintering window and thermal stability of the microspheres are significantly improved. These experimental results are surprising for the preparation of new nylon SLS 3D printing materials.

Novel advancements in additive manufacturing of PLA: A review

“…Meanwhile, PNCs have been fabricated with enhanced thermal and electrical conductivity, improved mechanical and thermal expansion, and increased fire retardancy for automotive, oil and gas, and other versatile applications 137–207 . Finally, it is emphasized that 3‐DPT and 4‐DPT are innovative processing technologies, presenting the future route of the manufacturing sector 208–244 …”

Tuning the micro‐structure, laser ignition, and isovolumetric burning performance of nitrocellulose propellant via incorporation of graphene oxide

“…Therefore, a very small amount of GO can change the non-absorption characteristics of NC to infrared radiation due to the good dispersion and good photo-thermal conversion capacity of GO nanosheets. [22,36,45] By further increasing the GO content, it can be found that the delay time is only tens of milliseconds when doping 2 wt% of GO. In addition, the average flame intensity of the propellants during selfsustaining combustion was calculated by dividing the total flame intensity by the burning time, and a downward trend is shown in Figure 9A.…”