The high flammability of components manufactured by laser-based powder bed fusion of
plastics (PBF-LB/P) using standard polyamide 12 (PA12) powder still severely restricts their use
in industries such as electronics, aviation, and transportation. A key factor for the further
establishment of PBF-LB/P is the expansion of the material portfolio with, for example, refreshable
and halogen-free flame-retardant (FR) powder materials. Accordingly, various halogen-free FRs
are investigated in this work and evaluated with respect to their use in PBF-LB/P. First, their
decomposition behavior and mode of action are examined. Subsequently, the additives are dry
blended with PA12 to investigate properties relevant for PBF-LB/P, such as particle morphology,
thermal behavior, and melt viscosity. Afterwards, test specimens for UL94 vertical
flame-retardancy tests are produced by processing the dry blends on an EOS P3 PBF-LB/P system.
Finally, the process stability of the process-aged powder blends is investigated by again examining
thermal behavior and melt viscosity.Mechanical Engineerin
