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Effective process parameters in selective laser sintering

Article  in  International Journal of Rapid Manufacturing · January 2014

DOI: 10.1504/IJRAPIDM.2014.066036

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148 Int. J. Rapid Manufacturing, Vol.

Effective process parameters in selective laser

sintering

W. Ruban*
Mechanical Engineering Department,
Sri Krishna College of Technology,
Coimbatore 641042, India
E-mail: naveensvp@gmail.com
*Corresponding author

V. Vijayakumar and P. Dhanabal

Mechanical Engineering Department,
PSG College of Technology,
Coimbatore 641004, India
E-mail: mechviji2000@yahoo.co.in
E-mail: dhans2005@gmail.com

T. Pridhar
Mechanical Engineering Department,
Sri Krishna College of Technology,
Coimbatore 641042, India
E-mail: preeth_t@rediffmail.com

Abstract: Selective laser sintering (SLS) is a powder-based rapid prototyping

(RP) technology in which parts is built by CO2 laser. This research work
presents an optimal method to determine the best processing parameter for SLS
in order to fabricate parts with enhanced component integrity and reduced
overall costs using stainless steel material. Moreover, the optimum process
parameters, such as layer thickness, hatch spacing, laser power and part bed
temperature are obtained by adopting the Taguchi method based on the Design
of Experiment model for better surface finish, dimensional accuracy and
hardness. Experiments are planned by using Taguchi’s L12 orthogonal array.
The level of importance of the process parameters are determined by using
analysis of variance (ANOVA). The experimental results confirmed that the
validity of the used Taguchi method for enhancing the SLS performance and
optimising the process parameters in the stainless steel material based SLS
rapid manufacturing process.

Keywords: RP; rapid prototyping; SLS; selective laser sintering; Taguchi

optimisation techniques; process parameters.

Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Ruban, W.,

Vijayakumar, V., Dhanabal, P. and Pridhar, T. (2014) ‘Effective process
parameters in selective laser sintering’, Int. J. Rapid Manufacturing, Vol.

Copyright © 2014 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.

 Effective process parameters in selective laser sintering 149

Biographical notes: W. Ruban is working as an Assistant Professor in the

Department of Mechanical Engineering at Sri Krishna College of Technology,
Coimbatore. He is a year of academic experience in Material Science, Rapid
Prototyping and Tool Design. He holds a degree from Jaya Engineering
College, Anna University, Chennai and Masters from PSG college of
Technology, Coimbatore .He is a member and Faculty Adviser of Society of
Automotive Engineers India. He has presented many research papers in
International and national conferences.

V. Vijayakumar is working as an Assistant Professor (Senior Grade) in the

Department of Mechanical Engineering at PSG College of Technology,
Coimbatore. He is having nine years of teaching experience in Manufacturing,
Composites and Tool Design and he has three years of research experience
in composite components manufacturing. He did his UG from Arulmigu
Kalasalingam College of Engineering, and Masters from Alagappa Chettiar
College of Engineering and Technology, Karaikudi. He is a life member in
Institution of Engineers.

P. Dhanabal is working as an Assistant Professor in the Department of

Mechanical Engineering at PSG College of Technology, Coimbatore. He is
having four years of academic experience in Manufacturing, Rapid Prototyping
and Tool Design. He holds UG from Coimbatore Institute of Technology,
Coimbatore and Masters from PSG college of Technology, Coimbatore. He has
presented research papers in International and national conferences.

T. Pridhar is working as an Assistant Professor in the Department of

Mechanical Engineering at Sri Krishna College of Technology, Coimbatore.
He is having nine years of academic experience in Manufacturing, Rapid
Prototyping and Composite materials. He has three years of research
experience in Metal Matrix Composites. He holds UG from Mahendra
Engineering College, Salem and Masters from SRM Engineering College,
Chennai. He has presented research papers in International and national
conferences.

This paper is a revised and expanded version of a paper entitled ‘Effective

Process Parameters in Selective Laser Sintering’ presented at International
Colloquium on Materials, Manufacturing and Metrology, Indian Institute of
Technology, Madras, 8–9 August, 2014.

1 Introduction

Prototype is an important and vital part of the product development process. Prototypes
play several roles in the product development process like experimentation and learning,
testing and proofing, communication and interaction, synthesis and integration,
scheduling and markers. Prototyping processes have gone through three phases of
development like manual prototyping, soft or virtual prototyping and rapid prototyping.
The last two of which have emerged only in last two decades like the modelling process
in computer graphics. The prototyping of the physical model is growing through its third
phase, since the lifecycle of product is getting shorter due to the rapid industrial
development and customer diverse needs, the reduction of the time, for new product
development time should be the significant issue (Rossi et al., 2004). Rapid prototyping
150 W. Ruban et al.

(RP) technology used form late 1980s has taken its place in CAD/CAM and has been
expected to cope with dynamic manufacturing environment. RP is a material additive
manufacturing (AM) process or layered manufacturing (LM) process where a 3D
computer model is sliced and reassembled in a real space layer-by-layer based on the
original form of material used and hardening method, the various systems such as stereo
lithographic apparatus (SLA), selective laser sintering (SLS), laminated object
manufacturing (LOM), fused deposit modelling (FDM), and soling ground curing (SGC)
have been introduced to the market. One of the better ways is to classify RP systems
broadly by the initial form of its material i.e., the material that the prototypes are part are
built with. In this manner all RP systems can be easily categorised into
• liquid based
• solid based
• powder based (Chua et al., 2010).
Among the different AM processes the SLS is a powder based RP process which directly
forms solid components according to a 3D CAD model by selective sintering of
successive layers of powdered raw materials. While the capability of SLS produces
functional objects directly from metals is under development, indirect methods of
producing functional objects from metals have been widely used. The materials used in
SLS system can be broadly classified into three groups: DuraForm materials (such as GF
plastics (glass filled polyamide), PA plastics (durable polyamide), EX plastic (impact
resistant plastic) Flex plastic (thermo plastic elastomer with rubber) and AF plastic
(polyamide), LaserForm materials such as A6 (steel) material, ST-200 material (special
stainless steel composite) and ST-100 material (Powdered stainless steel) and finally,
the CastForm PS material. A CAD model is first tessellated and sliced into layers of
0.05–0.3 (http://www.3dsystems.com/). SLS uses fine powder which is spread by a
re-coater on the machine bed and scanned directly by a CO2 laser such that the surface
tension of the grains overcome and they are sintered together. The interaction with the
laser beam with the powder raises temperature of the powder to the point of melting,
resulting in particle bonding, fusing the particles to themselves and the previous layer to
form a solid. The building of the part is done layer-by-layer. Each layer of the building
process contains the cross sections of one or many parts. The next layer is then built
directly on the top of the sintered layer after an additional layer of powder is deposited.
Before the laser is scanned, entire machine bed is heated to just below the melting point
of the material by infra red heaters to minimise thermal distortion and to facilitate fusion
to the previous layer. After allowing sufficient time for the sintered layer to cool down
without causing significant internal stresses, the part bed moves down by one layer
thickness to facilitate new powder layer, spread by a re-coater. The sintered material
forms the part while the un-sintered powder remains in its place to support the structure
and may be cleaned away and recycled once the build is complete. These layers are
joined together or fused automatically to create the final shape. The primary advantage to
additive fabrication is its ability to create almost any shape or geometric feature. The
standard data interface between CAD software and the machines is the STL file format
(Pham, 2000; Paul and Anand, 2012; Zhu et al., 2003).
The challenge of modern industries is mainly focused on achieving high quality,
in terms of workpiece dimensional accuracy, surface finish and high production rate,
economy of production in terms of cost saving and increasing the performance of the
 Effective process parameters in selective laser sintering 151

product with reduced environmental impact (Hongjun et al., 2003). Surface roughness
plays an important role in many areas and is a factor of great importance in the evaluation
of machining accuracy. In order to fabricate the parts to a close tolerance, it is essential
that the process parameters are to be maintained at appropriate levels. Hence it is very
essential to observe the parameters influencing surface finish during fabrication. The SLS
produced parts tend to have poor surface finish due to the relatively large particle sizes of
powder used. The system requires high power consumption due to the high wattage of the
laser required to sinter the powder particles together (Lamikiz et al., 2007).
Efficient analysis of the process and its influencing parameters is necessary to realise
all its merits. The experiments were conducted to estimate the intensity of influence of
parameters namely laser power, layer thickness, scan spacing and part bed temperature on
surface finish, dimensional accuracy and hardness. The different types of optimisation
techniques have been identified for this problem and the suitable one was considered to
optimise the parameters (DelCastillo, 2000). There is need to understand the influences of
parameters affecting surface roughness, dimensional accuracy and hardness while
fabrication using SLS. However their optimum values for better surface finish,
dimensional accuracy and hardness are to be explored. The proposed work deals with
formulation of experiments using factorial design of experiments, conducting
experiments, collection of necessary data and optimisation of the process parameters
based on suitable optimisation technique. The smallest features that can be produced are
generally greater than 0.003 inches with a tolerance of 0.005–0.020 inches (Tang et al.,
2003).

2 Experimental procedure

2.1 Objectives
• To identify the process parameters which are affecting the properties like roughness,
accuracy and hardness of stainless steel based SLS prototypes.
• To optimise the most influencing process parameters and enhance the properties like
surface finish, dimensional accuracy and hardness.

2.2 Principle of model creation

Parts are built by sintering then a CO2 laser beam hit a thin layer of powdered material.
The interaction with the laser beam with the powder raises temperature of the powder to
the point of melting, resulting in particle bonding, fusing the particles to themselves and
the previous layer to form a solid. This is the basic principle of sinter bonding.
The building of the part is done layer-by-layer. Each layer of the building process
contains the cross sections of one or many parts. The next layer is then built directly on
the top of the sintered layer after an additional layer of powder is deposited via a roller
mechanism. The packing density of particles during sintering affects the part density.
In studies of particle packing with uniformed-sized particles and particles used in
commercial sinter bonding, packing densities are found to range typically from 50%
to 62%. Generally, the higher the packing density, the better will be the expected
mechanical properties. However, it must be noted that scan pattern and exposure
parameters are also major factors in determining the part's mechanical properties.
152 W. Ruban et al.

2.3 Ground material selection

The materials used as the base material for rapid prototyping by selective laser sintering
using Stratasys sinterstation 2500plus are of three forms namely Duraform, Castform and
Laserform. After comparing the physical properties and applications of all the above said
materials, Laserform stainless steel (ST-100) is finally selected as the base material for
selective laser sintering process. LaserForm ST-100 is a mixture of stainless steel and
bronze, this is also a powdered stainless steel. Features of the materials are as follows:
part durability, suitable for metal parts and mould inserts directly from CAD files without
casting or machining, able to produce up to 1,00,000 parts per tool as a part of two-step
process. Applications for the material include making durable metal mould inserts, bridge
tooling, short run of metal parts and complex geometries and features.

Table 1 Properties of stainless steel-100

Density 23°C g/cm3

Thermal conductivity 100°C W/m/°K to 200°C W/m/°K
Coefficient thermal expansion x10–6 51–150°C m/m/°C
Tensile – yield strength (0.2%) 305 MPa
Strength 510 MPa
Elongation 10%
Young Modulus 137 GPa
Compression – yield strength (0.2%) 317 MPa
Hardness – Rockwell ‘B’
as infiltrated 87
as machined 79

2.4 Build parameters

The following factors are the main process parameters which significantly influence the
process parameters of the sintered parts which are actually aiming to improve.
• laser power
• layer thickness
• hatch spacing
• part bed temperature.

2.4.1 Layer thickness

Layer thickness refers to the thickness of a single layer of material being swept over
power bed during each step of Selective laser sintering process. Stratasys sinterstation
2500plus equipment requires a minimum layer thickness of about 0.08 mm.
 Effective process parameters in selective laser sintering 153

2.4.2 Laser power

Laser power refers to the power of the laser beam coming out of the scanner in selective
laser sintering process. For fabricating metals, laser power in the range of 50–100 W
is used.

2.4.3 Hatch spacing

Hatch spacing refers to the distance between the successive movements of laser.
Lower the hatch spacing, higher the laser beam sintering the powder. Hatch spacing
changes from material to material. As far as Stratasys sinterstation 2500plus is concerned,
it ranges from 0.1 mm to 0.5 mm.

2.4.4 Part bed temperature

The entire bed within the sinterstation where prototyping is done has to be maintained at
a particular degree of vacuum. Therefore the space in maintained at a temperature greater
than atmospheric temperature called part bed temperature.

2.5 Plan of experiment

The factorial design of experiment was conducted for the purpose of observing the effect
of parameters say; layer thickness, hatch spacing, laser power and part bed temperature
on the fabricated part in SLS, three factors at two levels and one factor at three levels
were taken into account.

Table 2 Design of experiments

Experimental Laser power (Lp) Hatch spacing (Hs) Layer thickness Part bed temperature
runs in watt in mm (Lt) in mm (Tb) in °C
1 61 0.08 0.1 107
2 61 0.1 0.1 107
3 60 0.08 0.1 107
4 61 0.1 0.1 105
5 61 0.08 0.1 105
6 62 0.1 0.1 105
7 62 0.08 0.08 107
8 62 0.1 0.08 107
9 62 0.08 0.08 105
10 60 0.1 0.08 107
11 60 0.08 0.08 105
12 60 0.1 0.08 105

2.6 Green part fabrication

The whole process kept inside a heated chamber filled mostly with an inert gas such as
nitrogen to reduce unwanted interaction with the atmosphere, which is close to the melt
154 W. Ruban et al.

temperature of the material so that the laser needs to impart only the slightest temperature
increase to ensure bonding.

Table 3 Fixed parameters in SLS

Powder size 100 µm

Feed heater set point 60°C
Minimum layer time 10s
Part bed cylinder heater set point 40°C
Feed distance 0.254 mm
Powder height 60 mm
Scan speed 380 cm/sec

Figure 1 Working of SLS (selective laser sintering)

Figure 2 Fabricated specimens

 Effective process parameters in selective laser sintering 155

Figure 3 Tab design to hold specimens

2.7 Infiltration
The sintered samples infiltrated in an oven at 1070°C with composition of 40% bronze
and 60% 420 stainless steel approximately.

Figure 4 Specimens fixed on tab

Figure 5 A box filled with stainless steel powder

156 W. Ruban et al.

Figure 6 A box containing specimens on tab with stainless steel powder in closed

Figure 7 Infiltrated specimens

2.8 Testing of fabricated specimens

2.8.1 Surface roughness measurement
Surface roughness of the parts were fabricated in SLS is measured using Surfcorder
(surface roughness measuring device). Surfcorder is provided with the exchangeable
diamond stylus of radius 5µ, which sensing the horizontal and vertical deflection from
any surface gives the roughness value Ra.

2.8.2 Dimensional measurement

The determination of dimensional accuracy of the fabricated parts involves the
consideration of the most critical section of the part. On considering the various
dimensions of the part the thickness of the part seems to be more vulnerable to
dimensional errors due to parameter changes.
 Effective process parameters in selective laser sintering 157

2.8.3 Hardness measurement

Hardness of the fabricated parts was measured by dynamic hardness tester. It is provided
with movable rod. The rod carries a diamond cone ball tip at its base. The testing
apparatus was placed on the fabricated part and when applied some load, the diamond
cone ball tip made impression on the fabricated part.

Table 4 Measured values

S. No. Lp Hs Lt Tb Ra DA VHN
1 61 0.08 0.1 107 2.65 5.2 107
2 61 0.1 0.1 107 3.81 5.2 85
3 60 0.08 0.1 107 4.473 5.02 97
4 61 0.1 0.1 105 3.155 5.25 108
5 61 0.08 0.1 105 3.611 5.2 108
6 62 0.1 0.1 105 4.638 5.2 112
7 62 0.08 0.08 107 4.159 5.4 85
8 62 0.1 0.08 107 3.76 5.36 119
9 62 0.08 0.08 105 4.181 5.06 86
10 60 0.1 0.08 107 3.497 5.4 86
11 60 0.08 0.08 105 5.572 5.2 81
12 60 0.1 0.08 105 4.504 5.5 93

Figure 8 Variation of surface roughness characteristics

3 Results and discussions

3.1 Effect of control parameters on surface roughness

The characteristic of the lower value represents better surface finish, such as surface
roughness, is called ‘lower is better’. The rank order for SR is changed from its levels.
158 W. Ruban et al.

Analysis of the result leads to the conclusion that parameters at level A1, B1, C1 and D1
give maximum surface finish.

Table 5 S/N ratio results of surface roughness

Level A B C D
1 –12.97 –12.06 –11.26 –12.48
2 –10.30 –11.73 –12.53 –11.31
3 –12.41
Delta 2.67 0.33 1.27 1.17
Rank 1 4 3 2

3.2 Effect of control parameters on dimensional accuracy

The characteristic of the lower value represents better dimensional results, such as
measured dimension, is called ‘lower is better. The rank order for SR is changed from its
levels. Analysis of the result leads to the conclusion that parameters at level A1, B1, C1
and D1 give maximum dimensional accuracy.

Figure 9 Variation of dimensional accuracy characteristics

Table 6 Signal to noise ratios for dimensional accuracy

Level A B C D
1 –14.45 –14.28 –14.28 –14.38
2 –14.34 –14.51 –14.51 –14.42
3 –14.41
Delta 0.11 0.23 0.23 0.05
Rank 3 2 1 4

The characteristic of the higher value represents better hardness results, such as hardness
values are called ‘larger is better. The rank order for SR is changed from its levels.
Analysis of the result leads to the conclusion that parameters at level A2, B2, C2 and D2
give maximum hardness.
 Effective process parameters in selective laser sintering 159

Figure 10 Variation of hardness characteristics

Table 7 Signal to noise ratios for hardness VHN

Level A B C D
1 38.99 39.41 40.21 39.26
2 40.13 39.97 39.17 39.62
3 39.94
Delta 1.14 0.56 1.04 0.14
Rank 1 3 2 4

3.3 Interaction plot

The interaction plot for surface roughness, dimensional accuracy and hardness values are
developed to find the optimum values of the process parameters for S/N ratio 1, 2, 3. The
Ra, DA and VHN values are plotted with respect to parameter values. Need to find the
minimum of Ra, DA and maximum hardness of the input parameters.

Figure 11 Interaction plot for Surface roughness (see online version for colours)
160 W. Ruban et al.

Figure 12 Interaction plot for dimensional accuracy (see online version for colours)

Figure 13 Interaction plot for hardness (see online version for colours)

3.4 Regression equation

Mathematical model to predict the SLS based on the input parameters was developed
using regression analysis. Regression equations are used to describe the statistical
relationship between one or more predictors and the response variable which can be used
to predict new observations without further experimentation.
Ra (µm) = –19.6 + 0.134 Lp – 20.9 Hs – 9.9 Lt + 0.168 Tb
S = 0.49358
R-Sq = 39.7%
R-Sq(adj) = 5.3%
 Effective process parameters in selective laser sintering 161

S = the square root of the mean square error

R2 = estimated R2,
R2 (adj) = estimated adjusted R2.
DA (mm) = 4.52 – 0.0125 Lp + 6.92 Hs – 7.08 Lt + 0.0142 Tb
S = 0.119413
R-Sq = 54.9%
R-Sq(adj) = 29.1%
VHN = –246 + 5.63 Lp+ 325 Hs + 558 Lt – 0.75 Tb
S = 12.4874
R-Sq = 41.1%
R-Sq(adj) = 7.4%

3.5 ANOVA results

In this investigation, the analysis of variance (ANOVA) is performed to determine which
process parameter significantly affects the quality characteristics of SLS process and also
to find the relative contribution of process parameters in controlling the responses of the
SLS process.

Table 8 Results of ANOVA for surface roughness

Source DF Seq. SS Adj. SS Adj. MS F P

Lp 2 0.577 0.49 0.245 1.08 0.39
Hs 1 0.524 0.524 0.524 2.32 0.17
Lt 1 0.030 0.03 0.03 0.13 0.72
Tb 1 0.339 0.339 0.339 1.50 0.26
Error 6 1.357 1.357 0.226
Total 11 2.830

Table 9 Results of ANOVA for dimensional accuracy

Source DF Seq. SS Adj. SS Adj. MS F P

Lp 2 0.00932 0.01526 0.00763 0.53 0.612
Hs 1 0.0574 0.05741 0.05741 4.01 0.092
Lt 1 0.0661 0.06615 0.06615 4.63 0.075
Tb 1 0.0024 0.00241 0.00241 0.17 0.696
Error 6 0.0858 0.08581 0.01430
Total 11 0.2210
162 W. Ruban et al.

Table 10 Results of ANOVA for hardness

Source DF Seq. SS Adj. SS Adj. MS F P

Lp 2 388.5 261.5 130.7 0.72 0.52
Hs 1 126.7 126.7 126.7 0.70 0.43
Lt 1 247.0 247.0 247.0 1.37 0.28
Tb 1 6.8 6.8 6.8 0.04 0.85
Error 6 1083.2 1083.2 180.5
Total 11 1852.3

From the interaction plot, ANOVA, regression equations and s/n ratio the following
parameters will be considered as optimum.

Table 11 Optimum process parameters

Lp Hs Lt Tb Responses
62 0.08 0.10 107 Ra (µm) 2.650 µm
60 0.08 0.10 107 DA (mm) 5.02 mm
62 0.10 0.08 107 VHN-119

4 Conclusion

The layer thickness decreases from 0.1 mm to 0.08 mm. The no of layer increases and it
requires more time to complete the prototype as well as curing time increases. The hatch
spacing made an impact about surface finish. If the hatch spacing is low, the successive
layers will be high and met the required bonding strength. If the hatch spacing is high, the
distance between successive layers will be high, and cannot meet the required bonding
strength. The part bed temperature is used to improve the surrounding of powder vat.
So the requirement of laser curing will be high. So the system requires less watts
power, and if the part bed temperature decreases, the prototype need more surrounding
temperature and it will be supplied by laser curing. It produced system’s power
consumption is more; the more laser power may damages the prototype while curing
causes cake nature of prototype.
The determination of laser power 62 watts required for better surface finish and
hardness and watts for dimensional accuracy. The hatch spacing 0.08 mm required for
better surface finish and dimensional accuracy and 0.10 mm for better hardness results.
The layer thickness 0.10 mm required for better surface finish and dimensional accuracy
and 0.08 mm for better hardness results. The constant part bed temperature 107ºC
required for better surface finish, dimensional accuracy and hardness results.

5 Future work

The present work was done mainly for prototypes made by SLS process. In the feature,
the optimisation process can be focused towards mechanical properties such as
 Effective process parameters in selective laser sintering 163

toughness, shrinkage, compressive and tensile strength of the prototypes and the
parameters influencing them can be considered. And, it can be done for other prototyping
processes also.

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Website
Stratasys Inc. (http://www.3dsystems.com/) 26081 Avenue Hall, Velancia, California 91355, USA.

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