Selective laser sintering mechanism of polymer-coated molybdenum powder

A type of polymer-coated molybdenum powder used in selective laser sintering technology was prepared by coating polymer on molybdenum particles and frozen grinding techniques, with the maximum particle diameter of 71 μm. The laser sintering experiments of polymer-coated molybdenum powder were conducted by using the self-developed selective laser sintering machine (HLRP-350I). The method of microscopic analysis was used to investigate the dynamic laser sintering process of polymer-coated molybdenum powder. Based on the study, the laser sintering mechanisms of polymer-coated molybdenum powder were presented. It is found that the mechanism is viscous flow when the laser sintering temperature is between 100 °C and 160 °C, which can be described by a two-sphere model; and the mechanism is melting/solidification when the temperature is above 160 °C.