Selective laser sintering and post-processing of sisal fiber/ poly-(ether sulfone) composite powder

Abstract

Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) technology can be utilized to recycle residues from forestry and agriculture, thereby alleviating shortages of materials and reducing energy consumption by producing wood-plastic pieces for industrial application. The mechanical strength of wood-plastic SLS parts is low, which restricts the application of this technology. In this study, a novel type of sisal fiber/poly-(ether sulfone) (PES) composite was prepared using a polymer mixing method in order to improve the mechanical properties of SLS parts. Single-layer sintering method was adopted to determine the proper processing parameters. The mechanical properties of the parts with different ingredient ratios and different particle sizes of sisal fiber before and after post-processing were tested using a universal testing machine. The morphology was examined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Results showed that the mechanical properties of the printed parts were relatively enhanced; when the mixing ratio of composite powder was 10/90 wt/wt. In addition, the part fabricated by powder of particles size less than 0.105 mm (0.125 mm ≥ PS < 0.105mm) had the best mechanical strength. Moreover, the post-wax treatment significantly improved the strength of the parts, and the surfaces became smoother.

Effects of various processing parameters on the mechanical properties and dimensional accuracies of Prosopis chilensis/PES composites produced by SLS

“…It exhibits a stable temperature performance and excellent properties. PES is widely used in the various applications of engineering plastics and composite materials (Li et al , 2020; Idriss et al , 2020b). The use of PCP not only ensured an excellent bonding between the PCP and PES powder but also increased the stability, flexibility and ease of synthesis of the PCPC.…”

“…All the test samples in this experiment were printed using an AFS-360 SLS (AM) (Beijing Longyuan Technology, Ltd., Beijing, China). In a previous study, it was identified that the optimal mixing ratio of the PCP to PES powder to produce the PCPC was 10:90 (wt/wt), which was taken from (Li et al , 2020; Idriss et al , 2020b). The laser wavelength for SLS was 10.6 µm.…”

“…Laser sintering is primarily used for the processing of composite materials, ceramics, metals and polymers (Leach et al, 2019;Tiwari et al, 2019;Yu et al, 2018). SLS is superior to other technologies such as 3-D printing because it produces complex geometric parts without an expensive tool; furthermore, the unsintered powder after SLS can be reused, and the sintered parts are more dimensionally accurate than those produced by other technologies (Li et al, 2020;Idriss et al, 2020b). The rapidly developing SLS technology is used for the manufacture of various composite products such as wood-based materials; furthermore, it is also used for the manufacture of automobiles, industrial products, construction components and medical equipment (Sun et al, 2019b(Sun et al, , 2019a.…”

Sintering quality and parameters optimization of sisal fiber/PES composite fabricated by selective laser sintering (SLS)

“…Besides, the size and particle distribution of the composite influenced the mechanical properties of the sintered part, as reported by Daniele Sofia. 9,14 Therefore, the optimization of processing parameters of sintering biomass composite is one of the main purposes of this study. Generally, in the SLS process, a laser beam as a direct heat source radiates from powder biomass composite.…”

“…7 Presently, the materials used in the SLS process mainly focused on metals, ceramics, polymers, and biomass composite material. 8,9 However, these materials cannot meet completely the demand of the market due to a lack of structural variety. 10,11 To further improve the SLS process, there is a growing need to research and develop additional materials in terms of the effects of particle size and mixture ratio on the mechanical properties of sintered part.…”