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SLS powder storage
June 07, 2016 08:16AM
Hi guys,

How one should store the plastic powder properly to eliminate the charges built while sieving? should the bin be metallic? grounded? at what temperature and humidity?
Re: SLS powder storage
June 08, 2016 01:02PM
Obviously, metallic and grounded (both bin and sieve) will help.

Same with any handling tools (scrapers, scoops, etc). A long metal necklace (unhooked) stuffed into your shoe, and a dangling on an anti-static mat that connects you and the bin will also work wonders.

You don't want much humidity, especially with nylon. An incandescent light bulb (40 watt) in the lid of your bin that is always on can help keep the plastic dry, or a kilogram of silica gel ('crystal cat litter') in a sock or other fabric bag.

When sintering, you want the top layer (printing) as hot as you can get it without actually melting it. This reduces both warp and required laser power.

A shielded halogen bulb can be used to generate the heat in the scanning area under your laser opaque shield for this purpose.

With a well designed powder handling system (thermally controlled, external gas venting, laser opaque viewing areas) you can use the SLA machine itself as the storage area for short term storage.

Long term storage of plastic powder can be accomplished by 5 gallon plastic buckets - just make sure they have O-ring rubber seals in the lid, and a piece of aluminum foil with a fine chain or wire to the top of the bucket for grounding and static control when handling.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/08/2016 01:03PM by Ezrec.
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