Metallic slurry preparation and printability assessment for material extrusion additive manufacturing

Material extrusion additive manufacturing of thermoplastics is so advanced due to the tunable rheological properties and hence a suitable printability, which is deficient for metals. Even though semi-solid modification and binder indirect modification are used to realize metal extrusion printing, the uncontrollable flow behavior and the metallurgical defects make it challenging to bridge this gap. In this study, mixed powder remelting and printability assessment were first proposed for producing metallic slurry with pre-designed microstructure and suitable printability without adding fillers or polymer carriers. Specifically, the hypoeutectic Sn-Bi metallic slurry was obtained by remelting the mixed powder composed of SnBi58 powder and pure Sn powder. The microstructural characteristics at different temperatures were investigated, demonstrating the ability of microstructure predesign. Furthermore, the printability, including stability, extrudability, and buildability, was evaluated by an advanced rheometer. The combined slurry preparation and printability assessment provides a reliable method for parameters improvement to obtain the structural fidelity.