Fused filament fabrication of continuous optic fiber reinforced polylactic acid composites

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rui Yan ◽  
Yuye Wang ◽  
Pengjun Luo ◽  
Yangbo Li ◽  
Xiaochun Lu

Purpose The limited strength of polylactic acid (PLA) hinders its extensive engineering applications. This paper aims to enhance its strength and realize diverse applications. Design/methodology/approach Here, the continuous fiber reinforced PLA composites are fabricated by a customized fused filament fabrication three-dimensional printer. Uniaxial tensile and three-point flexural tests have been conducted to analyze the reinforcement effect of the proposed composites. To unveil the adhering mechanism of optic fiber (OF) and PLA, post failure analysis including the micro imaging and morphology have been performed. The underlying mechanism is that the axial tensile strength of the OF and the interfacial adhesion between PLA and OF compete to enhance the mechanical properties of the composite. Findings It is found that 10%–20% enhancement of strength, ductility and toughness due to the incorporation of the continuous OF. Originality/value The continuous OFs are put into PLA first time to improve the strength. The fabrication method and process reported here are potentially applied in such engineering applications as aerospace, defense, auto, medicine, etc.

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Erfan Rezvani Ghomi ◽  
Saeideh Kholghi Eshkalak ◽  
Sunpreet Singh ◽  
Amutha Chinnappan ◽  
Seeram Ramakrishna ◽  
...  

Purpose The potential implications of the three-dimensional printing (3DP) technology are growing enormously in the various health-care sectors, including surgical planning, manufacturing of patient-specific implants and developing anatomical models. Although a wide range of thermoplastic polymers are available as 3DP feedstock, yet obtaining biocompatible and structurally integrated biomedical devices is still challenging owing to various technical issues. Design/methodology/approach Polyether ether ketone (PEEK) is an organic and biocompatible compound material that is recently being used to fabricate complex design geometries and patient-specific implants through 3DP. However, the thermal and rheological features of PEEK make it difficult to process through the 3DP technologies, for instance, fused filament fabrication. The present review paper presents a state-of-the-art literature review of the 3DP of PEEK for potential biomedical applications. In particular, a special emphasis has been given on the existing technical hurdles and possible technological and processing solutions for improving the printability of PEEK. Findings The reviewed literature highlighted that there exist numerous scientific and technical means which can be adopted for improving the quality features of the 3D-printed PEEK-based biomedical structures. The discussed technological innovations will help the 3DP system to enhance the layer adhesion strength, structural stability, as well as enable the printing of high-performance thermoplastics. Originality/value The content of the present manuscript will motivate young scholars and senior scientists to work in exploring high-performance thermoplastics for 3DP applications.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kaiyang Zhu ◽  
Zichen Deng ◽  
Shi Dai ◽  
Yajun Yu

Purpose This study aims to focus on the effect of interlayer bonding and thermal decomposition on the mechanical properties of fused filament fabrication-printed polylactic acid specimens at high extrusion temperatures. Design/methodology/approach A printing process, that is simultaneous manufacturing of contour and specimen, is used to improve the printing accuracy at high extrusion temperatures. The effects of the extrusion temperature on the mechanical properties of the interlayer and intra-layer are evaluated via tensile experiments. In addition, the microstructure evolution affected by the extrusion temperature is observed using scanning electron microscopy. Findings The results show that the extrusion temperature can effectively improve the interlayer bonding property; however, the mechanical properties of the specimen for extrusion temperatures higher than 270°C may worsen owing to the thermal decomposition of the polylactic acid (PLA) material. The optimum extrusion temperature of PLA material in the three-dimensional (3D) printing process is recommended to be 250–270°C. Originality/value A temperature-compensated constitutive model for 3D printed PLA material under different extrusion temperatures is proposed. The present work facilitates the prediction of the mechanical properties of specimens at an extrusion temperature for different printing temperatures and different layers.


2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 549-555
Author(s):  
Jin Young Choi ◽  
Mark Timothy Kortschot

Purpose The purpose of this study is to confirm that the stiffness of fused filament fabrication (FFF) three-dimensionally (3D) printed fiber-reinforced thermoplastic (FRP) materials can be predicted using classical laminate theory (CLT), and to subsequently use the model to demonstrate its potential to improve the mechanical properties of FFF 3D printed parts intended for load-bearing applications. Design/methodology/approach The porosity and the fiber orientation in specimens printed with carbon fiber reinforced filament were calculated from micro-computed tomography (µCT) images. The infill portion of the sample was modeled using CLT, while the perimeter contour portion was modeled with a rule of mixtures (ROM) approach. Findings The µCT scan images showed that a low porosity of 0.7 ± 0.1% was achieved, and the fibers were highly oriented in the filament extrusion direction. CLT and ROM were effective analytical models to predict the elastic modulus and Poisson’s ratio of FFF 3D printed FRP laminates. Research limitations/implications In this study, the CLT model was only used to predict the properties of flat plates. Once the in-plane properties are known, however, they can be used in a finite element analysis to predict the behavior of plate and shell structures. Practical implications By controlling the raster orientation, the mechanical properties of a FFF part can be optimized for the intended application. Originality/value Before this study, CLT had not been validated for FFF 3D printed FRPs. CLT can be used to help designers tailor the raster pattern of each layer for specific stiffness requirements.


2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 107-121 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vladimir E. Kuznetsov ◽  
Alexey N. Solonin ◽  
Azamat Tavitov ◽  
Oleg Urzhumtsev ◽  
Anna Vakulik

Purpose This paper aims to investigate how the user-controlled parameters of the fused filament fabrication three-dimensional printing process define temperature conditions on the boundary between layers of the part being fabricated and how these conditions influence the structure and strength of the polylactic acid part. Design/methodology/approach Fracture load in a three-point bending test and calculated related stress were used as a measure. The samples were printed with the long side along the z-axis, thus, in the bend tests, the maximum stress occurred orthogonally to the layers. Temperature distribution on the sample surface during printing was monitored with a thermal imager. Sample mesostructure was analyzed using scanning electron microscopy. The influence of the extrusion temperature, the intensity of part cooling, the printing speed and the time between printing individual layers were considered. Findings It is shown that the optimization of the process parameters responsible for temperature conditions makes it possible to approximate the strength of the interlayer cohesion to the bulk material strength. Originality/value The novelty of the study consists in the generalization of the outcomes. All the parameters varied can be expressed through two factors, namely, the temperature of the previous layer and the extrusion efficiency, determining the ratio of the amount of extruded plastic to the calculated. A regression model was proposed that describes the effect of the two factors on the printed part strength. Along with interlayer bonding strength, these two factors determine the formation of the part mesostructure (the geometry of the boundaries between individual threads).


2013 ◽  
Vol 35 (7) ◽  
pp. 1244-1252 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shah Alimuzzaman ◽  
R. Hugh Gong ◽  
Mahmudul Akonda

Author(s):  
Pravin R. Kubade ◽  
Hrushikesh B. Kulkarni ◽  
Vinayak C. Gavali

Additive Manufacturing or three-dimensional printing refers to a process of building lighter, stronger three-dimensional parts, manufactured layer by layer. Additive manufacturing uses a computer and CAD software which passes the program to the printer to build the desired shape. Metals, thermoplastic polymers, and ceramics are the preferred materials used for additive manufacturing. Fused deposition modeling is one additive manufacturing technique involving the use of thermoplastic polymer for creating desired shape. Carbon fibers can be added into polymer to strengthen the composite without adding additional weight. Present work deals with the manufacturing of Carbon fiber-reinforced Polylactic Acid composites prepared using fused deposition modeling. Mechanical and thermo-mechanical properties of composites are studied as per ASTM standards and using sophisticated instruments. It is observed that there is enhancement in thermo-mechanical properties of composites due to addition reinforcement which is discussed in detail.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Pilar Valerga Puerta ◽  
J.D. Lopez-Castro ◽  
Adrián Ojeda López ◽  
Severo Raúl Fernández Vidal

Purpose Fused filament fabrication or fused deposition modeling (FFF/FDM) has as one of its main restrictions the surface quality intrinsic to the process, especially linked to the layer thickness used during manufacture. The purpose of this paper is to study the possibility of improving the surface quality of polylactic acid (PLA) parts manufactured by FFF using the shot blasting technique. Design/methodology/approach The influence of corundum blasting on 0.2 mm layer thickness FDM PLA parts treated with two sizes of abrasive, different exposure times and different incidence pressures. Findings As a result, improvements of almost 80% were obtained in the surface roughness of the pieces with high exposure times, and more than 50% in just 20 s. Originality/value This technique is cheap, versatile and adaptable to different part sizes and geometries. Furthermore, it is a fast and environmentally friendly technique compared to conventional machining or vapor smoothing. Despite this, no previous studies have been carried out to improve the quality of this technology.


2019 ◽  
Vol 72 (4) ◽  
pp. 533-539
Author(s):  
Peng Zhang ◽  
Zhichao Hu ◽  
Huanxiong Xie ◽  
Gwang-Hee Lee ◽  
Chul-Hee Lee

Purpose This paper aims to study the different infill, printing direction against sliding direction and various load condition for the friction and wear characteristics of polylactic acid (PLA) under reciprocating sliding condition. Design/methodology/approach The tests were performed by applying the load of 1, 5, 15 and 10 N with sliding oscillation frequency of 10 Hz for the duration of 10 min at room temperature. Findings The results show that the friction and wear properties of PLA specimen change with a different infill density of printed parts. The oscillation frequency is 10 Hz and the infill density of plate is 50 per cent that shows the best friction and wear properties. Originality/value The potential of this research work is to investigate the tribological characteristics of three-dimensional printing parts with different infill percentage to provide a reference for any parts in contact with each other to improve friction and wear performance. There will be many opportunities exist for further research and the advancement of three-dimensional printing in the field of tribology.


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