Selective Laser Sintering of High-Temperature Thermoset Polymer

• Published in: Journal of composites science Vol. 6; no. 2; p. 41
• Main Authors: Hassan, Md Sahid, Billah, Kazi Md Masum, Hall, Samuel Ernesto, Sepulveda, Sergio, Regis, Jaime Eduardo, Marquez, Cory, Cordova, Sergio, Whitaker, Jasmine, Robison, Thomas, Keating, James, Shafirovich, Evgeny, Lin, Yirong
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 01.02.2022
• Subjects: 3-D printers; Compression tests; Compressive strength; Crosslinking; Curing; Dimensional stability; Energy; Fourier transforms; Glass transition temperature; High temperature; Laser sintering; Manufacturers; Mechanical properties; Particle size; polymer crosslinking; Polymers; printability; Rapid prototyping; Raw materials; selective laser sintering (SLS); Software; Thermal stability; Thermodynamic properties; Thermogravimetric analysis; Thermoplastic resins; thermoset; Thermosetting resins; Three dimensional printing; United States > US
• ISSN: 2504-477X; 2504-477X
• DOI: 10.3390/jcs6020041

Thermoplastic materials such as PA12 and PA6 have been extensively employed in Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) 3D printing applications due to their printability, processability, and crystalline structure. However, thermoplastic-based materials lack polymer inter-chain bonding, resulting in inferior mechanical and thermal properties and relatively low fatigue behavior. Therefore, 3D printing of high-performance crosslinked thermosets using SLS technology is paramount to pursue as an alternative to thermoplastics. In this work, a thermoset resin was successfully 3D printed using SLS, and its thermal stability of printed parts after a multi-step post-curing process was investigated. Dimensionally stable and high glass transition temperature (Tg: ~300 °C) thermoset parts were fabricated using SLS. The polymer crosslinking mechanism during the printing and curing process was investigated through FTIR spectra, while the mechanical stability of the SLS 3D-printed thermoset was characterized through compression tests. It is found that 100% crosslinked thermoset can be 3D printed with 900% higher compressive strength than printed green parts.