Mechanical characteristics of compressive specimens obtained by SLS technology

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to investigate the mechanical properties of Additive Manufacturing(AM)parts. The 3D printer used in this study is Fuse 1 (FormLabs, Summerville, MA), which utilizes theSLS(Selective Laser Sintering) technology. This technology allows the production of objects with different shapesand dimensions simultaneously, provided that they are printed at a minimum distance of 5 [mm] apart. Thepowder layer thickness during printing was 110 microns. The mechanical characteristics of a specifictypeofspecimen, which conforms to the ISO 604 standard for compressive specimens, were examined. Thecompressive specimens have dimensions of Ø10x20 [mm]. Four batches of specimens were produced, eachdiffering in printing orientation (i.e. horizontal and vertical) and printing location (i.e. printed on the edgeandin the middle of the powder bed). The material used for printing the specimens is polyamide (PA12), whichhas a compressive strength is 13/24/55 MPa at 1%/2%/5%. The specimens were subjected to a standardtensiletesting machine (SHIMADZU AGS-X 100kN) after printing. Furthermore, the results of the testing also showed significant variations in the compressive strengthofthe specimens at different levels of elongation. At 1% and 2% elongation, the compressive strengthvaluesdisplayed large deviations, which suggests that the parts may not be able to withstand highlevelsofdeformation at these points. However, at 5% elongation, the values were much closer to the expectedvaluesfound in the literature