The Effect of Powder Re-Use on the Coalescence Behaviour and Isothermal Crystallisation Kinetics of Polyamide 12...

Polymer powder bed fusion (PBF) is becoming increasingly popular for the fabrication of lightweight, high-performance parts, particularly for medical and aerospace applications. This study investigates the effect of powder re-use and material aging on the coalescence behaviour, melt flowability, and isothermal crystallisation kinetics of polyamide-12 (PA-12) powder. With increased powder re-use, a progressive reduction in melt flowability and material coalescence is observed; at 200 °C, the particle consolidation time increases from 15 s in virgin powder to 180 s in powder recovered from build 6. The observed changes in the behaviour of PA-12 were attributed to polycondensation and cross-linking; these aging phenomena also create structural defects, which hinder the rate and extent of primary crystallisation. At an isothermal crystallisation temperature of 165 °C, the crystallisation half-time increased from 12.78 min in virgin powder to 23.95 min in powder re-used across six build cycles. As a result, the commonly used Avrami model was found to be unsuitable for modelling the crystallisation behaviour of aged PA-12 powder, with the co-efficient of determination (R²) reducing from >0.995 for virgin powder to as low as 0.795 for re-used powder. On the other hand, an alternative method, the Hay model, is able to successfully track full phase transformation within re-used powder (R² > 0.99). These results highlight the importance of selecting the most appropriate model for analysing the crystallisation kinetics of PA-12 powder re-used across multiple build cycles. This understanding is crucial for obtaining the strong mechanical properties and dimensional precision required for the fabrication of functional, end-use parts within PBF.