Binder jetting process with ceramic powders: Influence of powder properties and printing parameters

Binder jetting (BJ) is an additive manufacturing process in which powder materials are selectively joined by a binder. BJ is plagued by its high sensitivity to both powder properties and process parameters which critically affect the quality of powder beds and final products. Alumina powder was used as a model material processed using different routes to obtain granules with various characteristics. Granule properties (particle size, morphology, flowability), characteristics of powder bed (roughness, packing density) and process parameters (binder saturation, layer thickness) were highly optimized in order to achieve the highest printed parts quality in terms of compressive strength and volume density. Optimized values reach 102.2 ± 11.1 MPa and 64.2 ± 1.9% T.D respectively which are close to expectations for this process. The paper serves as an aid in understanding the influence of powder properties and processing parameters and provides general guidelines to rapidly develop ceramic powders for conventional binder jetting process.