Compaction behavior of powder bed fusion feedstock for metal and polymer additive manufacturing

Purpose Powder bed-based additive manufacturing (AM) is a promising family of technologies for industrial applications. The purpose of this study is to provide a new metrics based on the analysis of the compaction behavior for the evaluation of flowability of AM powders. Design/methodology/approach In this work, a novel qualification methodology based on a camera mounted onto a commercially available tap density meter allowed to assess the compaction behavior of a selection of AM materials, both polymers and metals. This methodology automatizes the reading of the powder height and obtains more information compared to ASTM B527. A novel property is introduced, the "tapping modulus," which describes the packing speed of a powdered material and is related to a compression/vibration powder flow. Findings The compaction behavior was successfully correlated with the dynamic angle of repose for polymers, but interestingly not for metals, shedding more light to the different flow behavior of these materials. Research limitations/implications Because of the chosen materials, the results may lack generalizability. For example, the application of this methodology outside of AM would be interesting. Originality/value This paper suggests a new methodology for assessing the flowing behavior of AM materials when subjected to compression. The device is inexpensive and easy to implement in a quality assurance environment, being thus interesting for industrial applications.