Evaluation of a carbon fibre powder scraper used in metal additive manufacturing

Abstract

Powder Bed Fusion (PBF) is an Additive Manufacturing process which builds parts, layer by layer, by melting the cross-section of the part onto a powder layer. Aeroswift is a PBF machine, designed and built in South Africa. A powder scraper was designed which would be flexible, work for extended periods of time and have the ability to operate at high temperatures. In this study, the process of development toward carbon fibre scrapers and the evaluation for comparison to commercially available scrapers is explained. Results showed that the carbon fibre powder scraper is comparable to commercially available scrapers and is a viable solution for Aeroswift.