The influence of powder apparent density on the density in direct laser-sintered metallic parts

In direct laser sintering, the density is expected as high as possible for the industrial application. Since the density not only determines the industrial acceptance, but also limits the accuracy of the parts. This paper reports on the influence of the powder apparent density on final density of the sintered part's in direct laser sintering of Cu-based metal powder. The relative densities of the sintered parts with the different apparent densities using different process parameters have been investigated. The result shows that the apparent density has the most significant effect on final density of the sintered part. The final density increases with the increase of the apparent density. It is easy to get a higher final density in direct laser sintering process if a higher apparent density is used. However, the final density seems to have an upper limit for a given metal powder system. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.