Impact of powder bed fusion printing process parameters on the achieved quality of PA12 manufactured parts

Abstract

The study investigates the impact of process parameters in the additive manufacturing technology of powder bed fusion on the properties of manufactured parts. Through experimental analysis, we examine the impact of layer height, laser power, chamber temperature, and sample positioning on surface roughness, tensile strength, and various geometric and dimensional parameters. The samples fabricated from PA12 material are produced using the Sinterit Lisa device, which offers specific parameter adjustment capabilities but lacks precise value setting. The subsequent experimental phase consists of nine carefully designed experiments employing the Taguchi method. We used regression analysis to quantify the impact of individual process factors. Our results reveal significant effects of parameter variations on the final quality of printed objects. Furthermore, these results also underscore the critical importance of model orientation within the printing chamber, influencing achieved tensile strength, surface roughness, and roundness geometric properties. Notably, laser power has a notable impact on the dimensional accuracy of manufactured parts. However, according to our findings, it does not affect surface roughness. Moreover, we observe that laser power, when coupled with chamber temperature, influences the achieved strength of the examined samples. The optimization of these parameters holds promise for enhancing the mechanical properties, geometric properties as well as better surface quality of the final samples. This study offers valuable insights into understanding the laser sintering process better and provides practical guidance to optimize the production process based on this additive manufacturing technology.