Additive manufacturing of glass with laser powder bed fusion

Datsiou, Kyriaki Corinna; Saleh, Ehab; Spirrett, Fiona; Goodridge, Ruth; Ashcroft, Ian; Eustice, David A.

Abstract

Its transparency, aesthetic appeal, chemical inertness and electrical resistivity make glass an excellent candidate for small and large‐scale applications in the chemical, electronics, automotive, aerospace and architectural industries. Additive manufacturing of glass has the potential to open new possibilities in design and reduce costs associated with manufacturing complex customised glass structures that are difficult to shape with traditional casting or subtractive methods. However, despite the significant progress in the additive manufacturing of metals, polymers and ceramics, limited research has been undertaken on additive manufacturing of glass. In this study, a laser powder bed fusion method was developed for soda lime silica glass powder feedstock. Optimisation of laser processing parameters was undertaken to define the processing window for creating three‐dimensional multi‐layer structures. These findings enable the formation of complex glass structures with micro or macro‐scale resolution. Our study supports laser powder bed fusion as a promising method for the additive manufacturing of glass and may guide the formation of a new generation of glass structures for a wide range of applications.

Citation

Datsiou, K. C., Saleh, E., Spirrett, F., Goodridge, R., Ashcroft, I., & Eustice, D. A. (2019). Additive manufacturing of glass with laser powder bed fusion. Journal of the American Ceramic Society, 102(8), 4410-4414. https://doi.org/10.1111/jace.16440

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Mar 14, 2019
• Online Publication Date: Mar 21, 2019
• Publication Date: 2019-08
• Deposit Date: Mar 29, 2019
• Publicly Available Date: Apr 11, 2019
• Journal: Journal of the American Ceramic Society
• Print ISSN: 0002-7820
• Electronic ISSN: 1551-2916
• Publisher: Wiley
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 102
• Issue: 8
• Pages: 4410-4414
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/jace.16440
• Keywords: Materials Chemistry; Ceramics and Composites
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1709246
• Publisher URL: https://ceramics.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jace.16440
• Contract Date: Apr 11, 2019