Dispersion effects of nanocomposites to improve melting and resolidification behavior during PBF-LB/P with near-infrared diode lasers

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Even though the additive manufacturing process has become more popular these days, the available micro-powder feedstocks are often inadequate for laser processing tasks. In the field of polymer powders, there is a lack of a sufficiently wide range of processable materials and a limited understanding of the material’s behavior during laser-based additive manufacturing. A substantial understanding of the material behavior, the process conditions, the reproducibility and thus the properties of manufactured parts can only be achieved through the collaborative work of material scientists and process engineers. The proposed project aims to improve the knowledge of the influence of nano-additives and beam shaping on the material processing behavior in laser-based powder bed fusion (PBF-LB/P) with laser radiation in the near-infrared (NIR) region. By tuning PA12 and TPU powders with CuS and LaB6 nanoparticles, made by scalable high-power laser fragmentation and downstream-supporting, the absorption of PBF-NIR laser energy will be increased, which enables beam shaping options. Note that switching from the conventional CO2 (10600 nm) to a NIR laser source (808 nm) allows beam shaping devices to improve the temporal and spatial control of the energy input into the process zone. Our experimental setup will use a digital light processor (DLP) for a simultaneous and adjustable laser energy input over an entire area to control the heating and cooling conditions in the process chamber. During the process, microscopic changes in the material are expected to affect final part properties macroscopically. The experiments will be substantiated by a simulation model that takes into account the heat dissipation and distribution into the nano-additivated material after its development and validation. Therefore, our project includes investigating both the material-related and the process-related influencing factors to pave the way for improved, predictable, and controllable PBF-LB/P processing of tunable polymer composites by adaptive, simultaneous NIR exposure strategies.