Preparation of Polymer Powder Layer for Additive Manufacturing Applications Using Vibration Controlled Brass and Glass Nozzles

Abstract

Making scaffolds for bone repair is increasingly needed. The material used can be in the form of molten material or powder. For powder materials, Direct Laser Melting technology can be used so that the development of powder material deposition methods is needed. This is because there is a weakness in the deposition method which is assisted by gas pressure. This study uses two types of nozzles, the first type is made of brass with diameters 0.5, 0.8 and 1.0 mm, while the second type is made of glass with a nozzle mouth diameter of 1.0 mm. The powder material used is a polyester resin with a diameter of 5-15 microns in black, and diameter 7-75 microns in red. The nozzle containing the powder is vibrated so that a flow will occur. This flow characteristic will affect the form of deposition that occurs. Powder flow on the nozzle made of brass and glass shows a similarity to the 1.0 mm nozzle diameter. For nozzle diameter smaller than 1.0 mm, the effect of grain size affects flowability. The smoothness of the surface affects the nature of the powder flow. On a smooth glass surface, the friction force between the powder and the wall of the nozzle is small, so that for the small powder size the flow cannot be controlled. The best deposition form is obtained at a frequency of 950 Hz with a brass nozzle and 1.0 mm diameter.