Design and evaluation of digital mirror system for SLS process

Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) is currently recognized as a leading process in the new field of solid freeform fabrication (SFF). In order to develop more elaborate and speedy system for fabricating large objects compared to existing SLS, this study employs Digital Mirror System (DMS) for Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) process. DMS contains 3-axis dynamic focusing lens, zoom beam expender, x-y galvano mirror, reflection mirrors for scanning large area instead of the existing f theta lens used in commercial SLS. Also, in the SLS, the sintering temperature, laser beam power and layer thickness have a great influence on sintering of the polymer. Experiments were performed to evaluate the effect of a scanning path and fabrication parameters on sintering process and to fabricate the various 3D objects using polymer.