%0 Journal Article %A Su, W.-N. %A Erasenthiran, Poonjolai %A Dickens, Phill M. %D 2009 %T Investigation of fully dense laser sintering of tool steel powder using a pulsed Nd:YAG (neodymium-doped yttrium aluminium garnet) laser %U https://repository.lboro.ac.uk/articles/journal_contribution/Investigation_of_fully_dense_laser_sintering_of_tool_steel_powder_using_a_pulsed_Nd_YAG_neodymium-doped_yttrium_aluminium_garnet_laser/9568256 %2 https://repository.lboro.ac.uk/ndownloader/files/17201105 %K Laser sintering %K Nd:YAG laser %K Tool steel %K Tooling %K Laser cladding %K Mechanical Engineering not elsewhere classified %K Mechanical Engineering %X A 550W neodymium-doped yttrium aluminium garnet (Nd:YAG) pulsed laser was used in the solid freeform fabrication (SFF) process to form fully dense sintered parts. Tool steel powder was chosen due to its wide acceptance in the tool-making industry. Unlike many processes applying either thermoplastic binder or metals of low melting points in the powder mixture, this process enables a direct fusion of material to solid parts without a further post-processing step. This paper presents a methodology and the results of high-power laser sintering of tool steel powder. The investigation includes the effects of various process parameters on the fully dense laser sintering results on a single bead and single layer and the related scan strategy to build up solid cubes. This process could eventually produce pre-forms with complex material structures rather than finished tools or parts. %I Loughborough University