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Polymers
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Polymeric Materials in 3D Printing
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Polymeric Materials in 3D Printing

A special issue of Polymers (ISSN 2073-4360). This special issue belongs to the section "Polymer Applications".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 April 2025 | Viewed by 7843

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Costas Charitidis

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
RNANO Lab - Research Lab of Advanced, Composite, Nanomaterials & Nanotechnology, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, School of Chemical Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, Zographos, GR-15780 Athens, Greece
Interests: polymers nanocomposites; carbon based materials; advanced composite materials; nanocomposites; nanoindentation; nanomechanics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The field of additive manufacturing (AM), also known as 3D printing, has evolved significantly over time, reshaping material paradigms. The global prominence of AM highlights the significance of this Special Issue, uniting cross-disciplinary fields to navigate current needs and empower innovation. This Issue features state-of-the-art reviews and pioneering research on innovative AM materials, including composites, polymers, and conductive, magnetic, and smart materials, as well as materials for biomedical applications. Contributions concerning new AM technologies and process optimization, material design for AM, and characterization of AM parts are welcome. In this Special Issue, materials engineered for next-generation AM applications are explored, including, but not limited to, the following topics:

  • Novel materials tailored for AM;
  • Advancements in AM processes;
  • New applications of AM;
  • Specialized characterization techniques;
  • Establishment of quality control protocols.

Prof. Dr. Costas Charitidis
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Polymers is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • additive manufacturing
  • 3D printing
  • smart materials
  • biomaterials
  • nanomaterials
  • composites

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 4043 KiB  
Article
Progress toward the Definition of X-ray Computed Tomography Accuracy in the Characterization of Polymer-Based Lattice Structures
by Daniel Gallardo, Lucía-Candela Díaz, José Antonio Albajez and José Antonio Yagüe-Fabra
Polymers 2024, 16(10), 1419; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym16101419 - 16 May 2024
Viewed by 1091
Abstract
Lattice structures have become an innovative solution for the improvement of part design, as they are able to substitute solid regions, maintain mechanical capabilities, and reduce material usage; however, dimensional quality control of these geometries is challenging. X-ray computed tomography (XCT) is the [...] Read more.
Lattice structures have become an innovative solution for the improvement of part design, as they are able to substitute solid regions, maintain mechanical capabilities, and reduce material usage; however, dimensional quality control of these geometries is challenging. X-ray computed tomography (XCT) is the most suitable non-destructive metrological technique as it is capable of characterizing internal features and hidden elements. Uncertainty estimation of XCT is still in development, and studies typically use high-resolution calibrated devices such as focal variation microscopes (FVMs) as a reference, focusing on certain parts of the lattice but not the whole structure. In this paper, an estimation of the accuracy of XCT evaluation of a complete lattice structure in comparison to a higher-resolution reference device (FVM) is presented. Experimental measurements are taken on ad hoc designed test objects manufactured in polyamide 12 (PA12) using selective laser sintering (SLS), optimized for the evaluation on both instruments using different cubic-based lattice typologies. The results confirm higher precision on XCT evaluation in both qualitative and quantitative analysis. Even with a lower resolution, XCT is able to characterize details of the surface such as re-entrant features; as well, standard deviations and uncertainties in strut diameter evaluation remain more stable in all cells in XCT, identifying on the other hand reconstruction problems on FVM measurements. Moreover, it is shown that, using XCT, no additional evaluation errors were found in inner cells, suggesting that the measurement of external elements could be representative of the whole structure for metrological purposes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymeric Materials in 3D Printing)
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14 pages, 8440 KiB  
Article
Improving the Flexibility of Ship Propellers Additively Manufactured from High-Density Polyethylene/Long Carbon Fiber Composites by Prepreg Coating
by Gökdeniz Neşer, Ayberk Sözen, Alperen Doğru, Pengfei Liu, Erkin Altunsaray, Akile Neşe Halilbeşe and Serkan Türkmen
Polymers 2024, 16(9), 1257; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym16091257 - 30 Apr 2024
Viewed by 1549
Abstract
In efforts to achieve the goal of reducing ship emissions in the fight against climate change, reducing fuel consumption by making ships lighter is stated as one of the solutions. In this study, the possibilities of making composite equivalents of propellers, which are [...] Read more.
In efforts to achieve the goal of reducing ship emissions in the fight against climate change, reducing fuel consumption by making ships lighter is stated as one of the solutions. In this study, the possibilities of making composite equivalents of propellers, which are the most complex ship elements and traditionally produced from metal materials, are investigated with the advantages of additive manufacturing, which offers a rapid production opportunity for such forms. In this way, a lighter composite propeller and, therefore, a lighter ship will be achieved, and negative environmental impacts, especially harmful emissions, will be reduced. In the study, a 1/14-scale ship propeller was produced through the material extrusion method of additive manufacturing using an HDPE composite containing long carbon fiber with a 15% weight fraction. An attempt to reduce flexibility with an epoxy-carbon fabric prepreg coating was made, as the flexibility has negative effects on the performance of the produced propeller. The propeller tunnel test showed that the applied carbon fabric epoxy prepreg helped to improve the propeller’s performance by decreasing the flexibility of the propeller and reducing the deformation at the tips. At the same time, the propeller weight was decreased by 60% compared to its metal counterparts. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymeric Materials in 3D Printing)
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24 pages, 10644 KiB  
Article
Enhanced Bone Healing in Critical-Sized Rabbit Femoral Defects: Impact of Helical and Alternate Scaffold Architectures
by Iván Alonso-Fernández, Håvard Jostein Haugen, Liebert Parreiras Nogueira, Miriam López-Álvarez, Pío González, Mónica López-Peña, Antonio González-Cantalapiedra and Fernando Muñoz-Guzón
Polymers 2024, 16(9), 1243; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym16091243 - 29 Apr 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1594
Abstract
This study investigates the effect of scaffold architecture on bone regeneration, focusing on 3D-printed polylactic acid–bioceramic calcium phosphate (PLA-bioCaP) composite scaffolds in rabbit femoral condyle critical defects. We explored two distinct scaffold designs to assess their influence on bone healing and scaffold performance. [...] Read more.
This study investigates the effect of scaffold architecture on bone regeneration, focusing on 3D-printed polylactic acid–bioceramic calcium phosphate (PLA-bioCaP) composite scaffolds in rabbit femoral condyle critical defects. We explored two distinct scaffold designs to assess their influence on bone healing and scaffold performance. Structures with alternate (0°/90°) and helical (0°/45°/90°/135°/180°) laydown patterns were manufactured with a 3D printer using a fused deposition modeling technique. The scaffolds were meticulously characterized for pore size, strut thickness, porosity, pore accessibility, and mechanical properties. The in vivo efficacy of these scaffolds was evaluated using a femoral condyle critical defect model in eight skeletally mature New Zealand White rabbits. Then, the results were analyzed micro-tomographically, histologically, and histomorphometrically. Our findings indicate that both scaffold architectures are biocompatible and support bone formation. The helical scaffolds, characterized by larger pore sizes and higher porosity, demonstrated significantly greater bone regeneration than the alternate structures. However, their lower mechanical strength presented limitations for use in load-bearing sites. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymeric Materials in 3D Printing)
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20 pages, 9703 KiB  
Article
High-Density Polyethylene/Carbon Black Composites in Material Extrusion Additive Manufacturing: Conductivity, Thermal, Rheological, and Mechanical Responses
by Nectarios Vidakis, Markos Petousis, Nikolaos Michailidis, Nikolaos Mountakis, Apostolos Argyros, Mariza Spiridaki, Amalia Moutsopoulou, Vassilis Papadakis and Costas Charitidis
Polymers 2023, 15(24), 4717; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym15244717 - 15 Dec 2023
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 3029
Abstract
High-density polyethylene polymer (HDPE) and carbon black (CB) were utilized to create HDPE/CB composites with different filler concentrations (0.0, 2.0, 4.0, 6.0, 8.0, 10.0, 16.0, 20.0, and 24.0 wt.%). The composites were extruded into filaments, which were then utilized to fabricate 3D-printed specimens [...] Read more.
High-density polyethylene polymer (HDPE) and carbon black (CB) were utilized to create HDPE/CB composites with different filler concentrations (0.0, 2.0, 4.0, 6.0, 8.0, 10.0, 16.0, 20.0, and 24.0 wt.%). The composites were extruded into filaments, which were then utilized to fabricate 3D-printed specimens with the material extrusion (MEX) method, suitable for a variety of standard mechanical tests. The electrical conductivity was investigated. Furthermore, thermogravimetric analysis and differential scanning calorimetry were carried out for all the HDPE/CB composites and pure HDPE. Scanning electron microscopy in different magnifications was performed on the specimens’ fracture and side surfaces to investigate the morphological characteristics. Rheological tests and Raman spectroscopy were also performed. Eleven different tests in total were performed to fully characterize the composites and reveal connections between their various properties. HDPE/CB 20.0 wt.% showed the greatest reinforcement results in relation to pure HDPE. Such composites are novel in the MEX 3D printing method. The addition of the CB filler greatly enhanced the performance of the popular HDPE polymer, expanding its applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymeric Materials in 3D Printing)
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