New Strategies for Powder Compaction in Powder-based Rapid Prototyping Techniques

In powder-based rapid prototyping techniques, powder compaction is used to create thin layers of fine powder that are locally bonded. By stacking these layers of locally bonded material, an object is made. The compaction of thin layers of powder mater ials is of interest for a wide range of applications, but this study solely focuses on the application for powder -based three-dimensional printing (e.g. SLS, 3DP). This research is primarily interested in powder compaction for creating membranes with specific properties.In this paper, methods of powder deposition are discussed and experiments carried out using a specimen powder bed apparatus and a custom powder compaction device, using these methods (doctor blade, forward and backward rotating roller, double action roller) with various parameters. The model of powder compaction is verified in experiments. Insight is gathered to gain a better prediction of powder compaction.