scholarly journals Fabrication of porous bioactive structures using the selective laser sintering technique

Author(s):  
M M Savalani ◽  
L Hao ◽  
Y Zhang ◽  
K E Tanner ◽  
R A Harris

Hydroxyapatite, a ceramic with which natural bone inherently bonds, has been incorporated into a polymer matrix to enhance the bioactivity of implant materials. In order to manufacture custom-made bioactive implants rapidly, selective laser sintering has been investigated to fabricate hydroxyapatite and polyamide composites and their properties investigated. One objective of this research was to identify the maximum hydroxyapatite content that could be incorporated into the matrix, which was sintered at various parameters. The study focused on investigating the control of porosity and pore size of the matrix by manipulating the selective laser sintering parameters of the laser power and laser scan speed. The interception method was used to analyse the internal porous morphology of the matrices which were cross-sectioned through the vertical plane. Most notably, all structures built demonstrated interconnection and penetration throughout the matrix. Liquid displacement was also used to analyse the porosity of the matrices. The laser power showed a negative relationship between porosity and variation in parameter values until a critical power value was reached. However, the same relationship for laser scan speed matrices was inconsistent. The effects of the laser power and laser scanning speed on the features of porous structures that could influence cell spreading, proliferation, and bone regeneration are presented.

Author(s):  
Hideki Kyogoku ◽  
Takeshi Uemori ◽  
Akihiko Ikuta ◽  
Kenichi Yoshikawa ◽  
Hitoshi Ohmori

In this study, the fabrication conditions of WC cemented carbides by direct selective laser melting were investigated. The effects of additives, such as Co, Cu-20%Sn and Cu powders, and laser scanning conditions on laser sintering process were examined to fabricate a sound laser-scanned body of WC cemented carbides. The optimum laser power, scan speed and scan pitch were found out by experiments. It was found that the continuously smooth single-scan track can be obtained at a lower laser power and a higher scan speed by the addition of 30% Cu powder. The smooth surface of the laser-scanned body could be fabricated at a laser power of 9 W, a scan speed of 20 mm/s and a scan pitch of 0.05 mm.


2011 ◽  
Vol 55-57 ◽  
pp. 853-858
Author(s):  
Rong Cheng ◽  
Xiao Yu Wu ◽  
Jian Ping Zheng

This paper presents experimental investigations on influence of important process parameters viz., laser power, scan speed, layer thickness, hatching space along with their interactions on dimensional accuracy of Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) processed pro-coated sand mold. It is observed that dimensional error is dominant along length and width direction of built mold. Optimum parameters setting to minimize percentage change in length and width of standard test specimen have been found out using Taguchi’s parameter design. Optimum process conditions are obtained by analysis of variance (ANOVA) is used to understand the significance of process variables affecting dimension accuracy. Scan speed and hatching space are found to be most significant process variables influencing the dimension accuracy in length and width. And laser power and layer thickness are less influence on the dimension accuracy. The optimum processing parameters are attained in this paper: laser power 11 W; scan speed 1200 mm/s; layer thickness 0.5 mm and hatching space 0.25 mm. It has been shown that, on average, the dimensional accuracy under this processing parameters combination could be improved by approximately up to 25% compared to other processing parameters combinations.


BioResources ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 5710-5724
Author(s):  
Aboubaker I. B. Idriss ◽  
Jian Li ◽  
Yangwei Wang ◽  
Yanling Guo ◽  
Elkhawad A. Elfaki

A new type of sustainable material, i.e., a sisal fiber/poly-ether sulfone composite (SFPC), which is energy-efficient, environmentally friendly, and has a low cost, was developed for laser sintering additive manufacturing. This study was performed to explore the effects of the processing parameters on the SFPC composite parts produced via selective laser sintering (SLS). The effects of the laser sintering processing parameters, i.e., the preheating temperature, laser power, and scan speed, were studied. Bending and tensile testing of the SFPC specimens was successfully performed via SLS. The effect of the processing parameters on the SLS in terms of the mechanical strength of the laser-sintered parts was investigated. The results determined that the processing parameters had a significant effect on the mechanical strength of the sintered SFPC parts. When the preheating temperature and laser power were increased in the processing SLS system, the mechanical strength of the sintered SFPC parts was significantly increased. However, the scanning speed had an inverse proportional relationship to the mechanical strength of the SFPC SLS parts.


Author(s):  
Xing Zhang ◽  
Yiliang Liao

Abstract Selective laser sintering/melting (SLS/SLM) is a rapid prototyping technique that utilizes a high-energy laser beam to bind powder particles together for solid part fabrication. Due to the presence of several factors, microstructure-based material modeling can be of significant importance for optimizing processing parameters. To date, most researchers have put their efforts on simulating the microstructure of SLM-processed component, while few attentions have been paid to investigate the evolving of microstructure during SLS. In this work, a phase-field model is proposed to simulate the microstructure evolution during the solid-state SLS process. The microstructure evolution as affected by the laser power and scanning velocity are studied. It is found that the width of sintering neck increases with the increase of laser power and the decrease of laser scanning velocity. The modeling predictions are compared with the experimental data regarding the neck width between adjacent particles. In addition, it is demonstrated that this model is capable of carrying out large-scale simulations.


Author(s):  
K F Leong ◽  
K K S Phua ◽  
C K Chua ◽  
Z H Du ◽  
K O M Teo

New techniques in solid freeform fabrication (SFF) have prompted research into methods of manufacturing and controlling porosity. The strategy of this research is to integrate computer aided design (CAD) and the SFF technique of selective laser sintering (SLS) to fabricate porous polymeric matrix drug delivery devices (DDDs). This study focuses on the control of the porosity of a matrix by manipulating the SLS process parameters of laser beam power and scan speed. Methylene blue dye is used as a drug model to infiltrate the matrices via a degassing method; visual inspection of dye penetration into the matrices is carried out. Most notably, the laser power matrices show a two-stage penetration process. The matrices are sectioned along the XZ planes and viewed under scanning electron microscope (SEM). The morphologies of the samples reveal a general increase in channel widths as laser power decreases and scan speed increases. The fractional release profiles of the matrices are determined by allowing the dye to diffuse out in vitro within a controlled environment. The results show that laser power and scan speed matrices deliver the dye for 8-9 days and have an evenly distributed profile. Mercury porosimetry is used to analyse the porosity of the matrices. Laser power matrices show a linear relationship between porosity and variation in parameter values. However, the same relationship for scan speed matrices turns out to be rather inconsistent. Relationships between the SLS parameters and the experimental results are developed using the fractional release rate equation for the infinite slab porous matrix DDD as a basis for correlation.


2006 ◽  
Vol 315-316 ◽  
pp. 357-360 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yi Fu Shen ◽  
D.D. Gu ◽  
Y.F. Pan

Balling process in selective laser sintering of 316 stainless steel powder was investigated. It showed that the balling phenomenon was ascribed to the higher liquid viscosity and surface tension effect during laser sintering. The effects of laser power and scan speed on the balling initiation was studied. It was found that increasing laser power and scan speed within a moderate range can reduce balling effect. However, care should be taken to control laser powers and scan speeds that can be used since their excessive increase may give rise to detrimental effects.


Pharmaceutics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (10) ◽  
pp. 1701
Author(s):  
Yanis A. Gueche ◽  
Noelia M. Sanchez-Ballester ◽  
Bernard Bataille ◽  
Adrien Aubert ◽  
Jean-Christophe Rossi ◽  
...  

The aim of this work was to investigate the effect of process parameters on the printability of a formulation containing copovidone and paracetamol, and on the properties of solid oral forms 3D-printed through selective laser sintering. Firstly, the influence of the heating temperature was evaluated individually, and it was revealed that this parameter was critical for printability, as a sufficiently high temperature (100 °C) is necessary to avoid curling. Secondly, the effects of laser power, scan speed, and layer thickness were determined using a Box–Behnken design. The measured responses, printing yield, height, weight, hardness, disintegration time, and percentage of drug release at 10 min showed the following ranges of values: 55.6–100%, 2.92–3.96 mm, 98.2–187.2 mg, 9.2–83.4 N, 9.7–997.7 s, and 25.8–99.9%, respectively. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) proved that the generated quadratic models and the effect of the three–process parameters were significant (p < 0.05). Yield improved at high laser power, low scan speed, and increased layer thickness. Height was proportional to laser power, and inversely proportional to scan speed and layer thickness. Variations in the other responses were related to the porosity of the SOFs, which were dependent on the value of energy density. Low laser power, fast scan speed, and high layer thickness values favored a lower energy density, resulting in low weight and hardness, rapid disintegration, and a high percentage of drug release at 10 min. Finally, an optimization was performed, and an additional experiment validated the model. In conclusion, by applying a Quality by Design approach, this study demonstrates that process parameters are critical for printability, but also offer a way to personalize the properties of the SOFs.


2010 ◽  
Vol 43 ◽  
pp. 578-582 ◽  
Author(s):  
C.Y. Wang ◽  
Q. Dong ◽  
X.X. Shen

Warpage is a crucial factor to accuracy of sintering part in selective laser sintering (SLS) process. In this paper, The influence of process parameters on warpage when sintering polystyrene(PS) materials in SLS are investigated. The laser power, scanning speed, hatch spacing, layer thickness as well as temperature of powder are considered as the main process parameters. The results showed that warpage increases with the increase of hatch space. Contary to it, warpage decreases with the increase of laser power. Warpage decreases with the increase of layer thickness between 0.16~0.18mm and changes little with increase of the thickness. Warpage increases along with the increase of scanning speed but decreases when the speed is over about 2000mm/s. When the temperature changes between 82°C-86°C, warpage decreases little with the increase of temperature. But further increase of temperature leads to warpage decreasing sharply when the temperature changes between 86°C-90°C.


2008 ◽  
Vol 594 ◽  
pp. 241-248 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fwu Hsing Liu ◽  
Yunn Shiuan Liao ◽  
Hsiu Ping Wang

The material in powder state has long been used by selective laser sintering (SLS) for making rapid prototyping (RP) parts. A new approach to fabricate smoother surface roughness RP parts of ceramic material from slurry-sate has been developed in this study. The silica slurry was successfully laser-gelling in a self-developed laser sintering equipment. In order to overcome the insufficient bonding strength between layers, a strategy is proposed to generate ceramic parts from a single line, a single layer, to multi-layers of gelled cramic in this paper. It is found that when the overlap of each single line is 25% and the over-gel between layers is 30%, stronger and more accurate dimensional parts can be obtained under a laser power of 15W, a laser scanning speed of 250 mm/s, and a layer thickness of 0.1 mm. The 55:45 wt. % of the proportion between the silica powder and silica solution results in suitable viscosity of the ceramic slurries without precipitation. Furthermore, the effects of process parameters for the dimensional accuracy and surface roughness of the gelled parts are investigated and appropriate parameters are obtained.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 108
Author(s):  
Tobias Heckner ◽  
Michael Seitz ◽  
Sven Robert Raisch ◽  
Gerrit Huelder ◽  
Peter Middendorf

In Selective Laser Sintering, fibres are strongly orientated during the powder recoating process. This effect leads to an additional increase of anisotropy in the final printed parts. This study investigates the influence of process parameter variation on the mechanical properties and the fibre orientation. A full factorial design of experiment was created to evaluate the processing parameters of recoating speed, layer thickness and laser power on the part’s modulus of elasticity. Based on the mechanical testing, computed tomography was applied to selected samples to investigate the process-induced fibre microstructure, and calculate the fibre orientation tensors. The results show increasing part stiffness in the deposition direction, with decreasing layer thickness and increasing laser power, while the recoating speed only shows little effect on the mechanical performance. This complies with computed tomography imaging results, which show an increase in fibre orientation with smaller layer thickness. With thinner layers, and hence smaller shear gaps, shear stresses induced by the roller during recoating increase significantly, leading to excessive fibre reorientation and alignment. The high level of fibre alignment implies an increase of strength and stiffness in the recoating direction. In addition, thinner layer thickness under constant laser energy density results in improved melting behaviour, and thus improved fibre consolidation, consequently further increasing the mechanical properties. Meanwhile, the parameters of recoating speed and laser power do not have a significant impact on fibre orientation within their applicable process windows.


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