Eventos Anais de eventos
COBEF 2017
Congresso Brasileiro de Engenharia de Fabricação
Investigating the manufacturing of a UHMWPE complex geometry part using a locally developed Selective Laser Sintering equipment
Submission Author:
José Maria Mascheroni , SC , Brazil
Co-Authors:
Carlos Ahrens, Matheus Aguiar
Presenter: José Maria Mascheroni
doi://10.26678/ABCM.COBEF2017.COF2017-0376
Abstract
Additive manufacturing (AM) techniques, such as Selective Laser Sintering (SLS), is moving from being an industrial rapid prototyping process to becoming a mainstream manufacturing process for polymer free form fabrication. However, a very small variety of available polymers restricts the intense use of SLS process for industrial production. The use of Polyamide 12 or its compounds, in AM applications far outnumber the use of any other polymeric material. The brazilian industry is demanding for other polymeric “commodities”, such as Polyethylene (PE), which can open new markets for AM applications. This paper investigates the feasibility of processing a UHMWPE complex shape part using a selective laser sintering (SLS) equipment designed and manufactured in Brazil. Due to its high mechanical properties, excellent wear resistance, low friction and chemical resistance UHMWPE is a semi-crystalline polymer that can be used in many applications such as sporting goods, medical artificial joints, bullet proof jackets and armours. UHMWPE cannot be produced easily because of its very high melt viscosity resulting from its very long chains. The influence of the bed temperature, laser power and scanning speed on the quality of a complex geometry was investigated. The results showed the feasibility of producing a UHMWPE complex shape part via SLS without presence of visual defects. The best parts were manufactured with a combination of laser power and scan speed that resulted in a density energy around 0.09 J/mm2. For the same density energy applied the bed temperature parameter has proven to have little influence over the quality of the part.
Keywords
Selective laser sintering, UHMWPE, Additive manufacturing, Polyethylene
