Additive manufacturing of powder components based on subtractive sintering approach

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this work is to introduce a novel approach of using additive manufacturing (AM) to produce dense complex ceramic and metallic parts. Powder 3D printing has been gaining popularity due to its ease of use and versatility. However, powder-based methods such as Selective Laser Melting (SLM) and Sintering (SLS), utilizes high power lasers which generate thermal shock conditions in metals and are not ideal for ceramics due to their high melting temperature. Indirect additive manufacturing methods have been explored to address the above issues but have proven to be wasteful and time-consuming. Design/methodology/approach In this work, a novel approach of producing high density net-shaped prototypes using subtractive sintering (SS) and solvent jetting is developed. AM combined with SS (AM-SS) is a process that includes five simple steps. AM-SS can produce repeatable and reliable results as has been shown in this work. Findings As a proof-of-concept, a zirconia dental crown with a high density of 97% is fabricated using this approach. Microstructure and properties of the fabricated components are analyzed. Originality/value A major advantage of this method is the ability to efficiently fabricate high density parts using either metal powder and more importantly, ceramic powder which is traditionally difficult to densify using AM. Additionally, any powder particle size (including nano) and shape can be used which is not the case for traditional powder-based 3D printing.