Journal
JOURNAL OF COMPOSITES SCIENCE
Volume 6, Issue 2, Pages -Publisher
MDPI
DOI: 10.3390/jcs6020041
Keywords
selective laser sintering (SLS); printability; thermoset; thermal stability; glass transition temperature; polymer crosslinking; mechanical stability; compressive strength
Categories
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Thermoplastic materials are widely used in SLS 3D printing applications, but their lack of inter-chain bonding results in inferior mechanical and thermal properties. Therefore, the 3D printing of high-performance crosslinked thermosets using SLS technology is important. In this study, a thermoset resin was successfully 3D printed using SLS and its thermal and mechanical stability were improved through post-curing.
Thermoplastic materials such as PA12 and PA6 have been extensively employed in Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) 3D printing applications due to their printability, processability, and crystalline structure. However, thermoplastic-based materials lack polymer inter-chain bonding, resulting in inferior mechanical and thermal properties and relatively low fatigue behavior. Therefore, 3D printing of high-performance crosslinked thermosets using SLS technology is paramount to pursue as an alternative to thermoplastics. In this work, a thermoset resin was successfully 3D printed using SLS, and its thermal stability of printed parts after a multi-step post-curing process was investigated. Dimensionally stable and high glass transition temperature (T-g: ~300 degrees C) thermoset parts were fabricated using SLS. The polymer crosslinking mechanism during the printing and curing process was investigated through FTIR spectra, while the mechanical stability of the SLS 3D-printed thermoset was characterized through compression tests. It is found that 100% crosslinked thermoset can be 3D printed with 900% higher compressive strength than printed green parts.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available