Experimental measurement and finite element modelling of the compressive properties of laser sintered Nylon-12

Laser sintering is a layer based manufacturing technique originally used to create prototypes, but is increasing used for manufacture. Porosity, which is an inherent part of the laser sintering process, has an effect on components produced. In this report, Nylon-12 which is a material developed for use with the laser sintering process, was used to produce compression test parts using the laser sintering and injection moulding processes. Parts tested to the ISO 604 standard showed differences in the mechanical properties between laser sintered and injection moulded produced Nylon-12 parts. Finite element modelling was used to replicate this behaviour and the experimental test results were used to validate the models.The compression tests showed that the modulus for the laser sintered Nylon-12 was 10% below the injection moulded Nylon-12, which is consistent with findings from powder metallurgy. However, there were discrepancies with the strength values as the laser sintered strength values were shown to be larger than those of the injection moulded Nylon-12 due to its poor toughness. The finite element modelling showed a reasonable approximation of the experimental tests, with the 3D models more accurate than the 2D models.