Production and processing of modified powders for SLM technology
Channel: General ideas an needs in the field of additive manufacturing
Powders modified with nano-scale additives can be processed in the SLM process to produce a material with improved process and/or material properties. However, powder blends with extreme particle size differences tend to segregate, resulting in an uneven distribution of nanoparticles in the modified powder. To overcome this problem and also to enable an industrially suitable and process-safe powder modification with nano-scale particles from the nanosafety point of view, suitable methods for powder modification must be developed and tested. Different polymeric processes offer suitable possibilities for the attachment of nano-scale additives to the alloy powder surface. Our idea is to investigate these approaches in more detail and subsequently to characterize the obtained powder modifications with respect to adhesion strength in order to verify nanosafety along the AM process chain (powder handling, sieving, etc.). This requires, among other things, the development of a nanosafety test adapted to the AM industry.
