PLA-Mg composites by laser-based powder bed fusion – A preliminary study

This study undertook preliminary experiments of manually mixed PLA and Mg particles, determined their thermal properties, and produced initial laser fused parts by PBF-LB. SEM investigation allowed the characterization of the initial PLA and Mg particles, as well as the microstructure of produced composites. It was shown that the thermal properties of the PLA-Mg-composite powder were influenced by the Mg content. However, although the powder was mixed manually, the laser fused parts showed good miscibility, as sintered composite parts showed a uniform gray color compared to the sintered pure PLA parts, which were white. This was supported by SEM, proving a homogeneous distribution of Mg powder within the sample. With this initial study, we were able to show that a composite composed of PLA as a biodegradable biopolymer and bioactive metal Mg particles can be processed in laser-based powder bed fusion technologies for polymer materials.