Research Projects

Titanium and aluminum in alloy forms are widely applied in various fields such as manufacturing, medical, and aerospace application. These are known for their lightweight, durability, and corrosion resistance due to the formation of a passivation layer upon reaction with Oxygen in the atmosphere. Polyamide/PA 12, on the other hand, is resistant to Chemicals and possesses good thermal properties. By coating the metal powder with PA12 through dissolution-precipitation method, the requirement on energy lower power laser can be reduce and the processing environment can be made simple. With reduce energy and temperature, warping and residual stress can also be improved which overall lessen the cost associated with prototyping. The intrinsic porosity exhibited in the Selective Laser Sintering SLS process to polymer-coated powder will compare with controlled porosity parts produced by Selective Laser Melting SLM and Electron Beam Melting EBM additive manufacturing process. A number of optimizations will be conducted on various stages from the production of spherical metal powder, coating process, 3D printing and post-treatment to achieved the desired pore structure.