Binder Jetting Additive Manufacturing: Observations of Compaction-induced Powder Bed Surface Defects

Abstract This paper, for the first time, reports observations of a type of powder bed surface defects (i.e., surface ridges) induced by forward-rotating roller compaction. Three compaction thicknesses (0, 30, and 180 µm) were tested at a layer thickness of 120 µm. Surface ridges occurred on the powder bed surface when compaction thickness was 180 µm, but not when compaction thickness was 0 or 30 µm. The formation of surface ridges was a cumulative process where the number and height of surface ridges first increased and then reached a plateau as the number of spread and compacted layers increased.