Selective Laser Sintering Machine

• Subject Area: Production Technology
• Term: Funded in 2021
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 463102246

The subject of the proposal at hand is an industrial 3D printing system for large parts, which uses the SLS process to produce components of high complexity with high surface and structural quality in plastic. Selective laser sintering (SLS) of polyamide is a manufacturing process for parts and machine components with which very complex geometries can be manufactured that meet the highest demands in terms of load capacity and strength and are directly comparable to components manufactured using the injection molding process. This means that the manufacturing process has great advantages over many other additive manufacturing processes. Another special feature is the fact that the otherwise usually required support structure is not needed in the manufacturing process and therefore not only individual parts, but a very large number of parts can be manufactured at the same time. This makes the process extremely productive and cost-efficient. At the Department of Fluid Mechanics, the only whole-body magnetic resonance imaging machine in Germany at a mechanical engineering faculty is operated to investigate technical and non-technical three-dimensional flows. The need to avoid any metal objects in the MRI requires flow models made of plastic. With the SLS, all advantages of MR-based flow measurement techniques can be optimally used: Many different models / configurations can be measured in a short time, flows in highly complex geometries can be investigated, fast development cycles can be realized due to the possibility to build new models or components of models overnight. The mechanical properties of the laser-sintered polyamide components ensure the highest possible failure safety of the water-bearing components in the magnetic resonance imaging machine.

• DFG Programme: Major Research Instrumentation
• Major Instrumentation: Kunststoffsinteranlage
• Instrumentation Group: 5740 Laser in der Fertigung
• Applicant Institution: Universität Rostock
• Leader: Professor Dr.-Ing. Sven Grundmann