Powder bed fusion of polymers with a laser beam (PBF-LB/P) is a layer-based additive manufacturing method that excels in producing functional components of complex geometries. However, the limitation of commercially available materials to mostly polyamides reduces the range of applications for PBF-LB/P-processed parts. Recently, liquid-liquid phase separation and crystallization have been reported as a suitable method to produce poly(butylene terephthalate) (PBT) microparticles of good flowability as a PBF-LB/P feedstock. PBT is an interesting plastic feedstock as its properties allow for an extension of the application of AM-built parts in the automotive and electronics sectors. Starting from PBT feed materials with different molar mass distributions, we investigate the effect of the feed material used in the thermal precipitation process under otherwise identical process parameters on the resulting PBT powder properties. The thermal precipitation process is highly robust with respect to bulk solid properties, such as particle size distribution, particle shape, flowability, and intrinsic properties (crystal structure and melting behavior). These product characteristics are virtually unaffected by the average molar mass of the PBT feed. Melt crystallization is accelerated, while the viscosity decreases with decreasing molecular mass. Once favorable process conditions are defined, which lead to powders with suitable properties, the crystallization kinetics and melt viscosity can be adjusted accordingly without changing the powder properties. Key parameters, which influence part porosity (through melt coalescence), layer adhesion, or the tendency of the material to warp during the PBF-LB/P process, are adjustable to produce a customized starting material.

This work systematically investigates the influence of spray parameters on the shape factor descriptors and the fractal dimensions of polymer agglomerates produced by fluidised bed spray agglomeration. Polystyrene primary-particles with sizes <100 mu m (Geldart C/A) are used to investigate the shape formation during the agglomeration process with regard to the spray-parameters, i.e., volume flows of the atomization gas and the binder liquid. As binding agent, a solution of polymethyl-methacrylate in acetone is used. Analysis of the ag-glomerates is carried out using scanning electron microscopy and laser diffraction. Development of agglomerate -size and the distributions of the shape factors circularity, roundness and compactness are monitored by image analysis and correlated with the spray parameters. The calculation of the fractal dimensions with regard to the Sauter mean diameter using the box counting method is performed and compared with the shape factors, resulting in two complementary methods to describe the shape of agglomerates.

Polymer composites and blend systems are of increasing importance, due to the combination of unique and different material properties. Blending polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) with polycarbonate (PC) has been the focus of attention for some time in order to combine thermo-chemical with mechanical resistance. The right compounding of the two polymers is a particular challenge, since phase boundaries between PBT and PC lead to coalescence during melting, and thus to unwanted segregation within the composite material. Amorphization of the semi-crystalline PBT would significantly improve the blending of the two polymers, which is why specific miscibility aids are needed for this purpose. Recent research has focused on the functionalization of polymers with shape-anisotropic glass particles. The advantage of those results from their two-dimensional shape, which not only improves the mechanical properties but are also suspected to act as miscibility aids, as they could catalyze transesterification or act as crystallization modifier. This work presents a process route for the production of PBT-PC blends via co-comminution and an in-situ additivation of the polymer blend particles with anisotropic glass flakes to adjust the crystallinity and therefore enhance the miscibility of the polymers.

Charge control substances (CCS) as additives for polymer powders are investigated to make polymer powders suitable for the electrophotographic powder deposition in powder-based additive manufacturing. The use of CCS unifies the occurring charge of a powder, which is crucial for this novel deposition method. Therefore, commercially available polymer powder is functionalized via dry coating in a shaker mixer with two different CCS and analyzed afterwards. The flowability and the degree of coverage of additives on the surface are used to evaluate the coating process. The thermal properties are analyzed by use of differential scanning calorimetry. Most important, the influence of the CCS on the powder charge is shown by measurements of the electrostatic surface potential at first and the powder deposition itself is performed and analyzed with selected formulations afterwards to show the potential of this method. Finally, tensile strength specimens are produced with the conventional deposition method in order to show the usability of the CCS for current machines.

Within this contribution, the effect of grinding media wear on the melt crystallisation of polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) is addressed. PBT was wet ground in a stirred media mill in ethanol using different grinding media beads (silica, chrome steel, cerium-stabilised and yttrium-stabilised zirconia) at comparable stress energies with the intention to use the obtained particles as feed materials for the production of feedstocks for laser powder bed fusion additive manufacturing (PBF-AM). In PBF‑AM, the feedstock's optical, rheological and especially thermal properties-including melt crystallisation kinetics-strongly influence the processability and properties of the manufactured parts. The influence of process parameters and used grinding media during wet comminution on the optical properties, crystal structure, molar mass distribution, inorganic content (wear) and thermal properties of the obtained powders is discussed. A grinding media-dependent acceleration of the melt crystallisation could be attributed to wear particles serving as nuclei for heterogeneous crystallisation. Yttrium-stabilised zirconia grinding beads proved to be the most suitable for the production of polymer powders for the PBF process in terms of (fast) comminution kinetics, unchanged optical properties and the least accelerated crystallisation kinetics.

Magnetic polymer composites are used in a variety of applications in many industries. Their production methods are usually time-consuming and solvent-intensive as they are performed in liquid phase processes, such as emulsion polymerization or precipitation. In this work, a quick, easy, and solvent-free method is presented to coat polymer particles with a discrete, non-coherent coating of superparamagnetic nanoparticles. The results of the dry coating process are evaluated optically, by means of scanning electron microscopy (SEM), via powder X-ray diffraction and thermally by means of differential scanning calorimetry, before finally demonstrating the effectiveness of dry coating by means of a vibrating sample magnetometer.

Polypropylene (PP) powders are coated with silica nanoparticles in a fluidized bed to improve the flow behavior of the powders and the processability in powder bed fusion. The nanoparticles are produced in situ via dusty plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) in an atmospheric-pressure Ar/O-2 plasma jet fixed at the distributor plate of the fluidized bed. Hexamethyldisiloxane is used as a precursor of the nanoparticles. The influence of the oxygen concentration in the plasma gas and the number of treatment cycles on the chemical composition of the nanoparticles, the amount of nanoparticles deposited, and the flow properties of the coated PP powders is investigated. The chemical composition of the formed silica particles is determined by X-ray photon spectroscopy and infrared spectroscopy. The results reveal that the composition of the nanoparticles is SiOxCy, that is, the portion of organic residues introduced by the precursor can be controlled by changing the oxygen concentration in the plasma gas. The mass of nanoparticles deposited on the polymer powder's surface, as determined by inductively coupled optical emission spectroscopy, shows a linear dependence of the number of cycles and the oxygen concentration in the plasma gas. A considerable improvement of the flow behavior of the PP powders is observed after PECVD treatment.