Analysis and modeling of direct selective laser sintering of two-component metal powders

Abstract

[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT AUTHOR'S REQUEST.] Direct Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) is an emerging technology of Solid Freeform Fabrication (SFF) that 3-D parts are built from the metal-based powder bed with CAD data. A one-dimensional analytical model of melting in a two-component powder layer with finite thickness subjected to a constant heat flux heating and a two-dimensional numerical model of SLS of a two-component powder layer with a moving laser beam scanning were developed consecutively. Three-dimensional modeling of laser sintering of a two-component metal powder mixture under a moving Gaussian laser beam was investigated numerically at last. The effects of the moving heat source intensity, the scanning velocity, the thickness of the powder layer and the number of existing sintered layers underneath on the sintering depth, the configuration of the heat affected zone (HAZ) and the temperature distribution are discussed.