High-speed thermal microscopy of plasma microprinting at atmospheric pressure
The HelixJet (https://www.inptdat.de/helixjet) was applied to simultaneous melting and plasma treatment of polyamide (PA 12) microparticles (diameter 60 µm) used conventionally for 3D printing by laser sintering. This proof-of-principle experiment demonstrated that gaussian thickness profiles of PA 12 can be printed using the HelixJet with a rapid rate of 200 mg/s (peak growth 2 mm/s) and with advantageous material properties. The key element of this novel process is the self-regulated balance between material melting and plasma quenching.