Abstract
To fabricate aluminum foam having nonporous surface layer (sandwich structure), the selective laser sintering (SLS) was applied to fill surface pores of a commercial closed-cell type aluminum foam (ALPORAS) with nylon (polyamide). A nylon powder with an average diameter of about 10 μm was supplied in the surface pores of the aluminum foam, while a nylon sheet with a thickness of 0.3 mm or 0.8 mm was set on the surface pores of the aluminum foam. The nylon powder or sheet was continuously melted and solidified in the surface pores of the aluminum foam by irradiating with a Nd:YAG laser with an average power of 10 J/mm^2. As a result, the aluminum foam having nylon surface layer was successfully fabricated.
