Infiltration Behavior of Thermosets for Use in a Combined Selective Laser Sintering Process of Polymers

Selective laser sintering (SLS) of polymers is an additive manufacturing process that enables the production of functional technical components. Unfortunately, the SLS process is restricted regarding the materials that can be processed, and thus the resulting component properties are limited. The investigation in this study illustrates a new additive manufacturing process, which combines reactive liquids such as thermoset resins and thermoplastics to generate multi-material SLS parts. To introduce thermoset resins into the SLS process, the time-temperature-dependent curing behavior of the thermoset and the infiltration have to be understood to assess the process behavior. The curing properties were analyzed using a rotational viscometer. Furthermore, the fundamental infiltration behavior was analyzed with micro-dosing infiltration experiments. Additionally, the infiltration behavior was calculated successfully by using the Washburn equation. Finally, a thermoset resin in combination with a dosing system was chosen for integration in a laser sintering system.