Study in performance and morphology of polyamide 12 produced by selective laser sintering technology

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of selective laser sintering (SLS) method on morphology and performance of polyamide 12. Design/methodology/approach Crystallization behavior is critical to the properties of semi-crystalline polymers. The crystallization condition of SLS process is much different from others. The morphology of polyamide 12 produced by SLS technology was investigated using scanning electron microscopy, polarized light microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, X-ray diffraction and wide-angle X-ray diffraction. Findings Too low fill laser power brought about bad fusion of powders, while too high energy input resulted in bad performance due to chain scission of macromolecules. There were three types of crystal in the raw powder material, denoted as overgrowth crystal, ring-banded spherulite and normal spherulite. Originality/value In this work, SLS samples with different sintering parameters, as well as compression molding sample for the purpose of comparison, were made to study the morphology and crystal structure of sintered PA12 in detail.