Investigation into mechanical and microstructural properties of polypropylene manufactured by selective laser sintering in comparison with injection molding counterparts》.pdfVIP

Materials and Design 82 (2015) 37–45 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Materials and Design journal homepage: www.else /locate/matdes Investigation into mechanical and microstructural properties of polypropylene manufactured by selective laser sintering in comparison with injection molding counterparts Wei Zhu a, Chunze Yan a,b,⇑, Yunsong Shi c, Shifeng Wen a, Jie Liu a, Yusheng Shi a,⇑ a State Key Laboratory of Materials Processing and Die Mould Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China b College of Engineering, Mathematics and Physical Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4QF, Devon, United Kingdom c Guangdong Silver Age Sci Tech Co. Ltd, Dongguan 523927, China a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t Article history: This work evaluated the processibility of a low-isotacticity polypropylene (PP) powder by selective laser Received 20 December 2014 sintering (SLS), and systematically analyzed and compared the melting and crystallization characteristics, Revised 4 April 2015 crystalline structure, tensile properties and thermo-mechanical properties of the PP specimens fabricated Accepted 16 May 2015 by SLS and injection molding (IM). The results show that the PP powder has a nearly spherical shape, Available online 22 May 2015 smooth surfaces, appropriate particle sizes, a wide sintering window and a low degree of crystallinity, consequently indicating good SLS p