Course: Study in Advanced Topic

Title: Overview of physics involved in FDM,

EBM and SLS processes
Instructor: Dr. Siva Prasad AVS
BITS Pilani By
Hyderabad Campus
Sagar S. Karwa
Overview of Additive manufacturing

Additive manufacturing (AM), widely known as 3D printing, is a

method of manufacturing parts from powder, wire or sheets by
joining material layer by layer from a CAD file.

The material can be plastic, metal, concrete or one day..human

tissue

First 3D printer was created by Charles W. Hull in the 1984 which

used a technique called stereo lithography (SLA)

Different AM techniques are SLA, SLS, FDM, EBM, NPJ, etc.

BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus

Introduction to FDM process
Pre-
processing Post-
processing

Processing

A computer controls the nozzle movement along the x and y axes, and
each cross-section of the prototype is produced by melting the plastic wire
that solidifies on cooling.

3 BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus

Support material in FDM

In the newest models, a second nozzle carries a support material that can
easily be removed afterward, allowing construction of more complex parts.
The most common support material is marketed by Stratasys under the
name WaterWorks
Types of support material:
1. Soluble Release (SR) support material can be washed away in a solution of
heated sodium hydroxide (NaOH) solution with the assistance of ultrasonic
agitation and a cleaning agent. Ex. ULTEM and PPSF
2. BreakAway Support Structures (BASS) are manually removed.

BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus

Electron Beam Melting

1. The fabrication chamber is maintained

at high vacuum and high temperature
2. A layer of metal powder is deposited on
the fabrication platform
3. A focused electron beam is used to melt
the powder particles in a small volume
within the layer
4. The electron beam is scanned to define
a 2D slice of the object within the layer
5. The build table is lowered, and a new
layer of dry powder is deposited on top
of the previous layer
6. After removal from the machine, the
unmelted powder is blasted off by
means of air and recycled

BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus

Selective Laser Sintering

1. A continuous layer of powder is

deposited on the fabrication
platform
2. A focused CO2 laser beam is used to
fuse/sinter powder particles in a
small volume within the layer
3. The laser beam is scanned to define
a 2D slice of the object within the
layer
4. The fabrication piston is lowered,
the powder delivery piston is raised
and a new layer is deposited
5. After removal from the machine, the
unsintered dry powder is brushed
off and recycled

BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus

Comparison of FDM, SLS and EBM

FDM SLS EBM

Polyamide (Nylon), Polystyrenes, Only Conductive materials (Ti-6Al-4V,

Material ABS, PLA, Nylon
Thermoplastic Polyurethane (TPU),Metal Cr-Co,..)
Achievable quality Low to Medium Medium High
Layer thickness 0.127 to 0.5 mm 0.01 to 0.05 mm 0.05 mm
Minimum wall thickness 1 mm 0.8 mm 0.6 mm
Rough (staircase effect) but can be
Surface texture Slightly rough Smoother as compared to others
polished
Either chamber or build plate is heated Inert atmosphere of Argon kept above Vacuum environment (heated to 680 to
Build chamber atmosphere
to max 120C crystallization temperature 720C) to prevent scattering of beam
Supports required for overhangs to limit
Support (complex designs) Required Not required
geometric defects

Mechanical Strength of print Variable (can be strong or flexible) Stronger and flexible Highest strength

Nozzle size/Particle size 0.25 to 0.8 mm 0.01 to 0.045 mm 0.045 to 0.106 mm

Max Build volume 500 mm x 500 mm x 500 mm 700 mm x 380 mm x 560 mm 200mm x 200mm x 350mm
Delamination, stair casing, shrinkage, Porosity, Residual stresses, melt ball
Defects Porosity, delamination, overhangs
warping formation
Source of heat Small heater element Laser Electron beam

Operating temperature 210 to 400C 250 to 1660C 700 to 1000C

Control of beam ---- Lenses and scanning mirror Filament and magnetic coils

Printers inexpensive, Material Printers expensive, Printers very expensive,

Cost
inexpensive Material less expensive Material less expensive

BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus

Thank You!

BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus