Influence of Laser Process Parameters on Properties of Alumina Parts Produced By SLS

Abstract

Direct selective laser sintering (SLS) is an additive manufacturing technique for the fabrication of near net shaped parts directly from computer-aided design data by sintering together different layers with the help of a laser source. This paper presents an investigation of the physical properties (density and porosity) of alumina (Al 2 O 3) samples produced by SLS. Some input parameters, namely laser power and scan speed were selected for the investigation. The aim of this work is to understand the effect of these sintering parameters on the quality of the sintered layer (surface roughness), physical properties (density and porosity) and microstructure (grain size) are investigated. The results showed that maximum density of the sintered ceramics layers are of 3.54 gm/cm3 and minimum porosity of 4.34% were obtained at laser power 230 W and laser scanning speed 150 mm/min. The morphology was analyzed by means of field emission scanning electron microscope. Laser power and Scan speed were found to have a great influence on the surface roughness and morphology.