Powder spreading in powder bed fusion is a recoater-powder interaction shaped by cohesion, particle size distribution, and particle shape. This article maps streaking, short-feeding, and layer non-uniformity back to their underlying mechanisms and separates powder-driven causes from blade wear and spreading speed.
The same screw feeder at the same speed can deliver consistently on one powder and drift by several percent on another. The difference lies in compressibility, wall friction, and cohesion, and in how bulk density shifts as the hopper empties.
Vibration can improve powder discharge when it breaks [...]
Powder residence time matters because the sample and [...]
Do not diagnose a feeder as if the [...]
A powder operating window defines the process [...]
Acoustic emission for flow blockage prediction captures high-frequency [...]
Powder flowability is not one fixed property. A [...]
FIBC discharge problems are often blamed on the [...]
Free-flowing powders can form stable arches and block [...]
