Direct metal laser sintering for rapid tooling: processing and characterisation of EOS parts

Direct metal laser sintering (DMLS) fabricates metal prototypes and tools directly from computer aided design (CAD) data. The process is popular in rapid tooling (RT),since a suitable metal powder can be used to produce the metal parts and tools. The powder system may be pre-alloyed powder or multi-phase powder. The properties of the RT parts, however, depend on its composition and solidification conditions. Accuracy, wear resistance and mechanical properties are critical on choosing the rapid tooling mould as the production-grade tooling. This study includes the design of metal prototypes which are then fabricated by EOS's DMLS. The EOS material system is a mixture of nickel, bronze and copper-phosphide material. The dimensional accuracy, surface roughness, impact toughness, hardness, and strength of EOS parts are measured. SEM pictures of EOS parts are also thoroughly analysed. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.