Direct Laser Sintering of Metals and Metal Melt Infiltration for Near Net Shape Fabrication of Components

Direct laser sintering of metal powders is a great challenge for Rapid Prototyping (RP) because of the high potential of application, for example prototype tooling for polymer extrusion. Recent development in laser sintering ofmetal powders use polymer or low melting alloys as a binder phase. Postsintering to strengthen the component produces shrinkage ofthe part, hence the near net shape capability is limited. The combination of direct laser sintering and infiltration with metal melts allows the production ofstrong near net shaped components without shrinkage. A composite metal powder consisting ofNi, Cu, Sn and P was successfully sintered in a Selective-Laser Sintering unit in ambient atmosphere at room temperature. The influence oflaser intensity on microstructure and sintering behaviour is discussed. Infiltration experiments were done with partially sintered samples. Full density could be achieved without shrinkage. Mechanical properties and microstructural development will be discussed.Mechanical Engineerin

Brazilian Consensus on Photoprotection

Brazil is a country of continental dimensions with a large heterogeneity of climates and massive mixing of the population. Almost the entire national territory is located between the Equator and the Tropic of Capricorn, and the Earth axial tilt to the south certainly makes Brazil one of the countries of the world with greater extent of land in proximity to the sun. The Brazilian coastline, where most of its population lives, is more than 8,500 km long. Due to geographic characteristics and cultural trends, Brazilians are among the peoples with the highest annual exposure to the sun. Epidemiological data show a continuing increase in the incidence of nonmelanoma and melanoma skin cancers. Photoprotection can be understood as a set of measures aimed at reducing sun exposure and at preventing the development of acute and chronic actinic damage. Due to the peculiarities of Brazilian territory and culture, it would not be advisable to replicate the concepts of photoprotection from other developed countries, places with completely different climates and populations. Thus the Brazilian Society of Dermatology has developed the Brazilian Consensus on Photoprotection, the first official document on photoprotection developed in Brazil for Brazilians, with recommendations on matters involving photoprotection

Innovative economic process for the Rapid Prototyping of near net shape metal and ceramic parts

Many errors which occur in the design of new products are often detected lately. This induces high modification costs and a prolonging of the time needed for the whole development process. Due to this fact different prototyping techniques are used to detect errors earlier but usually conventional prototyping methods are time consuming and therefore avoided. In order to fulfill the demand for the fast production of especially metallic and ceramic prototypes for functional applications and testing the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Materials Research (IFAM) and the Fraunhofer institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation (IPA) started activities in the area of Rapid Prototyping more than four years ago. The idea was to find a technique which allows the production of prototypes with a high variability of materials like plastics, ceramics and metals. According to our experiences we developed and patented a new process named Multiphase Jet Solidification (MJS) able to produce met allic (e.g. stainless steel) and ceramic (e.g. SiC) parts for functional applications. With this new technique near net shape components can be produced rapidly