Optical properties of laser sintered polyamide 12

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to report selected optical properties of laser sintered polyamide 12 blank plates under different monochromatic and white light conditions and to apply these properties in production of laser sintered lithophanes. Design/methodology/approach: A UNICO 1201E spectrophotometer was used to measure the transmittance of laser sintered polyamide 12 plates as a function of plate thickness. Monochromatic light-emitting diodes were used to assess the wavelength dependence on the transmission and contrast as captured by a SONY DSC-W55 camera. Findings: The transmittance decreased with increasing plate thickness which varied significantly depending on the monochromatic wavelength. Highest transmission was observed using green light (525 nm) and poorest transmission was measured for yellow light (589 nm). Research limitations/implications: There is a limit to the amount of contrast obtained in polyamide lithophanes because the thickness of the plates is limited to less than about 5 mm. Greater thickness results in discernible topology on the lithophane which impairs the quality of the image. Originality/value: Light transmittance of polyamide 12 plates under different lighting conditions is reported and applied to optically defined laser sintered lithophanes.