Enhancing Photoelectric Powder Deposition of Polymers by Charge Control Substances

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.