Effect of delay time on part strength in selective laser sintering

Selective laser sintering (SLS) is one of the most popular layered manufacturing processes used for making functional prototypes of polymers and metals. It is a powder-based process in which layers of powder are spread and laser is used to sinter selected areas of preheated powder. In the present work, experimental investigations have been made to understand effect of delay time on SLS prototypes. Delay time is the time difference for laser exposure between any two adjacent points on successive scanning lines on a layer. Tensile specimens of polyamide material as per the ASTM standard are fabricated on SLS machine keeping delay time range constant for the entire specimen. Specimens are fabricated for different ranges of delay time and tested on universal testing machine for tensile strength. An optimum value of delay time range is obtained experimentally. As delay time depends on part build orientation, an algorithm has been developed and implemented to find out optimum part build orientation for improving tensile strength. The obtained results from developed code are validated experimentally for tensile specimen. Case study for a typical 3D part is also presented to demonstrate the capabilities of developed algorithm.