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Aging behavior of thermoplastic elastomers in the laser sintering process

Ziegelmeier, Stefan; W�llecke, Frank; Tuck, Christopher J.; Goodridge, Ruth D.; Hague, Richard J.M.

Authors

Stefan Ziegelmeier

Frank W�llecke

CHRISTOPHER TUCK CHRISTOPHER.TUCK@NOTTINGHAM.AC.UK
Professor of Materials Engineering

RUTH GOODRIDGE Ruth.Goodridge@nottingham.ac.uk
Professor of Additive Manufacturing

RICHARD HAGUE RICHARD.HAGUE@NOTTINGHAM.AC.UK
Professor of Additive Manufacturing



Abstract

It is known that polymers used in laser sintering (LS) change their intrinsic properties due to processing conditions that are close to the crystalline melting temperature. This paper evaluates the aging behavior of a thermoplastic polyurethane powder, comparing with to a commercially available LS elastomeric material (Duraform®Flex, 3D Systems). To represent a realistic production environment, the materials were aged during 14 processing cycles in the LS process without refreshing with virgin material. Following each aging cycle, both the powder and the sintered parts were examined for chemical and physical aging effects. The results showed that the materials observed could be used without refreshing throughout the 14 aging stages, however, changes in the processing behavior as well as in the parts' mechanical properties were evident. These changes were due to the differing aging states of the LS-powder showing an increase in the particle size affecting the bulk materials packing density. Modifications in the rheological properties can be seen in a decrease of molecular weight likely to reduce the mechanical strength of tensile specimens.

Citation

Ziegelmeier, S., Wöllecke, F., Tuck, C. J., Goodridge, R. D., & Hague, R. J. (2014). Aging behavior of thermoplastic elastomers in the laser sintering process. Journal of Materials Research, 29(17), 1841-1851. https://doi.org/10.1557/jmr.2014.172

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Jun 16, 2014
Online Publication Date Aug 19, 2014
Publication Date Sep 14, 2014
Deposit Date Nov 29, 2018
Journal Journal of Materials Research
Print ISSN 0884-2914
Electronic ISSN 2044-5326
Publisher Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 29
Issue 17
Pages 1841-1851
DOI https://doi.org/10.1557/jmr.2014.172
Public URL https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1340857
Publisher URL https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-materials-research/article/aging-behavior-of-thermoplastic-elastomers-in-the-laser-sintering-process/16F8FB5BB08C98CDED8D2CD743A1A2BA