Powder Characterization Techniques and Effects of Powder Characteristics on Part Properties in Powder-Bed based Additive Manufacturing: A Review

Abstract

Powder-bed fusion is a class of Additive Manufacturing (AM) processes that bond successive layers of powder to facilitate the creation of parts with complex geometries. As AM technology transitions from the fabrication of prototypes to end-use parts, the understanding of the powder properties needed to reliably produce parts of acceptable quality becomes critical. Consequently, this has led to the use of powder characterisation techniques such as scanning electron microscopy, laser light diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and differential thermal analysis to study the effect of powder characteristics on part properties. Utilisation of these powder characterisation methods to study particle morphology, chemistry, and microstructure has resulted in significant strides being made towards the optimisation of powder properties. This paper reviews methods commonly used in characterising AM powders, and the effects of powder characteristics on the part properties in powder-bed fusion processes.

Department(s)

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Second Department

Materials Science and Engineering

Research Center/Lab(s)

Intelligent Systems Center

Keywords and Phrases

Selective Laser Sintering; Powder Characterisation; Powder-Bed Fusion; Rapid Manufacturing; Material Properties

International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)

1745-2759

Document Type

Article - Journal

Document Version

Citation

File Type

text

Language(s)

English

Rights

© 2017 Taylor & Francis, All rights reserved.

Publication Date

01 Jan 2017

Link to Full Text

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