Speaker
Description
Additive Manufacturing (AM), with its capability to produce complex geometries, has been established as a viable method for fabricating neutron shielding components from composite filaments containing materials such as B$_4$C suspended in a thermoplastic matrix. In this work, a novel strategy for AM was employed, focusing on the development of a collimator with a blade thickness of 0.5mm using filaments containing 40 wt% B$_4$C. Primary challenges associated with the use of highly loaded filaments in combination with thin-walled structures, including stringing reduction and uniform blade thickness retention, were addressed. Results from neutron imaging demonstrate that the applied strategy led to the elimination of visible stringing within the image, maintenance of even blade thicknesses over the entire collimator, and sharp corners, in contrast to collimators produced without modifications to the manufacturing process.
