Speaker
Description
It is now widely accepted that there is an urgent need for a test to determine if a powder can be spread in to thin layers, as it must be for powder bed additive manufacturing. There is not yet any accepted or standardised test for this behaviour. Several techniques have been proposed in the last few years, most based on automated film applicators. A layer can be formed using similar settings to those in a 3D printer and then analysed using optical analysis or by measuring the mass of powder in the layer. The current work outlines recent progress in automated optical analysis of defects in the layer using directional lighting and the effects of dispensing strategy and roughness of the surface on which the powder is spread. A discrete element model has also been made and compared to experimental findings to benchmark the capability of the technique to replicate reality.