Over the last week or so, I've been fiddling with the sintering parameters to see if I could get stronger parts with the current hardware. I also upgraded the laser to a 1 Watt diode that I had on hand. I didn't put much effort into adjusting the optics for the new diode (each one is a little different), so the spot size isn't as small as it could be. But, I actually got results anyway.

I was able to get fully melted parts that don't curl or spike...much. Spikes are still an issue, particularly around the edges, but most of the time they've been small enough to break off instead of catching the blade. I tried increasing the sweep speed as well, and that seemed to help some. But it's still not as reliable as I'd like. Something else is causing the prints to fail. I'm going to try adding perimeters to see if that helps with the edge spikes.

Here's the TechShop gear again, but this time a lot stronger. Layer height was 125 microns.