Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) and Post-Processing of Prosopis Chilensis/Polyethersulfone Composite (PCPC)

Abstract

<jats:p>The range of selective laser sintering (SLS) materials is currently limited, and the available materials are often of high cost. Moreover, the mechanical strength of wood–plastic SLS parts is low, which restricts the application of a SLS technology. A new composite material has been proposed to address these issues, while simultaneously valorizing agricultural and forestry waste. This composite presents several advantages, including reduced pollution associated with waste disposal and reduced CO2 emission with the SLS process in addition to good mechanical strength. In this article, a novel and low-cost Prosopis chilensis/polyethersulfone composite (PCPC) was used as a primary material for SLS. The formability of PCPC with various raw material ratios was investigated via single-layer experiments, while the mechanical properties and dimensional accuracy of the parts produced using the various PCPC ratios were evaluated. Further, the microstructure and particle distribution in the PCPC pieces were examined using scanning electron microscopy. The result showed that the SLS part produced via 10/90 (wt/wt) PCPC exhibited the best mechanical strength and forming quality compared to other ratios and pure polyethersulfone (PES), where bending and tensile strengths of 10.78 and 4.94 MPa were measured. To improve the mechanical strength, post-processing infiltration was used and the PCPC-waxed parts were enhanced to 12.38 MPa and 5.73 MPa for bending and tensile strength.</jats:p>

Effects of various processing parameters on the mechanical properties and dimensional accuracies of Prosopis chilensis/PES composites produced by SLS

“…It exhibits a stable temperature performance and excellent properties. PES is widely used in the various applications of engineering plastics and composite materials (Li et al , 2020; Idriss et al , 2020b). The use of PCP not only ensured an excellent bonding between the PCP and PES powder but also increased the stability, flexibility and ease of synthesis of the PCPC.…”

“…All the test samples in this experiment were printed using an AFS-360 SLS (AM) (Beijing Longyuan Technology, Ltd., Beijing, China). In a previous study, it was identified that the optimal mixing ratio of the PCP to PES powder to produce the PCPC was 10:90 (wt/wt), which was taken from (Li et al , 2020; Idriss et al , 2020b). The laser wavelength for SLS was 10.6 µm.…”

“…However, traditionally available composite materials cannot completely satisfy the market demand, thereby limiting the range of applications of the SLS technology. Therefore, it is necessary to explore the fabrication of novel materials under optimal SLS processing parameters (Idriss et al, 2020b;Sofia et al, 2018bSofia et al, , 2015Sofia et al, , 2018a. It is also necessary to explore the effects of the various processing parameters on the forming quality, mechanical properties and dimensional accuracy of the sintered parts to obtain high-quality SLS parts.…”

“…However, these trees occupy a high surface area and lower the soil fertility, thereby rendering multiple agricultural areas throughout Sudan unfit for cultivation. The Sudanese government has attempted to address this issue by mass burning the Prosopis chilensis trees, thereby causing environmental degradation (Idriss et al , 2020b). The objective of the present study was to use the biomass of the Prosopis chilensis tree in AM technology by SLS instead of burning it for disposal.…”

“…The dimensional accuracy of the bending specimens was determined by a Vernier caliper. The formability of the PCPC at various mixing ratios of the raw materials was earlier investigated by single-layer sintering experiments (Idriss et al, 2020b). The microstructure and particle distribution of the various PCPC specimens were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM).…”