Robin, at 18" per minute your power input is going to be VERY high. With a 20W laser you could do a lot of materials to show the technique. You don't mention if your machine will be inert or not. Are there heaters to preheat the feed material and part bed or are you just going to use the laser the melt the daylights out of it? That will dictate some of the material characteristics.
There may be some SLS user's that have some old material they want to get rid of. I currently don't have much but probably will in the near future if you pay for shipping.
BTW, what is your project for?
Tim
>>> "Robin Stoddart" <robin99@home.com> 03/21 7:55 AM >>>
Hia all,
I'm doing a project on SLS, using a 20W CO2 laser. What king of feed rate
should I use for various materials (a range would be nice)..
I will be using an X-Y CNC table instead of scanners because the table is
cheaper/easier to control. I have calculated that my table is capable of
approx. 18"/min feed. I understand that could be WAY to slow, however, I can
turn the power down using the input power and gas pressure.
This is a very simple project, and I may only be able to draw a simple
square (because of time). I'm just looking to demonstrate the technique, and
perhaps play with it a bit, for my own enjoyment :)
Anyway, what would be suggested? A web page would be cool too.
Also, can anyone recommend any materials that would be cheap/plentiful for
demonstrating SLS? My dad suggested chocolate powder, so I'm up for anything
:)
Thanks a ton,
Robin Stoddart
robin99@home.com
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