Materials for high speed sintering

High Speed Sintering (HSS) is a novel additive manufacturing technology which currently uses Nylon 12 as the standard feedstock material. To expand the number of processable materials, the preferred characteristics of polymeric powder as a feedstock powder are presented, appropriate materials identified, parts made, and mechanical properties measured. Two commercially available laser sintering (LS) grade powders previously untested for HSS were selected, DuraForm® HST10 and ALM TPE 210-S. Tensile test specimens were manufactured using each material and mechanical properties analyzed and compared to the manufacturers’ specification for LS. Tensile test specimens built using DuraForm® PA show higher tensile strength and elongation at break than LS whereas DuraForm® HST10 shows somewhat reduced tensile strength but slightly increased elongation at break. ALM TPE 210-S shows elongation at break of more than double that of LS demonstrating the capability of HSS to process viscous materials. The results indicate that HSS is capable of processing LS grade polymeric powders and may extend beyond.