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Advanced FFF-Printed Polymeric Composites: Characterization, Modification, and Application

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 January 2024) | Viewed by 16455

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Dr. Teng-Chun Yang

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Department of Forestry, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung 402, Taiwan
Interests: wood; bamboo; lignocellulosic materials; natural fibers-reinforced composites; thermal modification; the structural design; fused deposition modeling (FDM)
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Fused filament fabrication (FFF) has recently gained popularity and achieved widespread use as the manufacturing process of desktop 3D printers. FFF allows solid parts with a 3D geometry to be formed by assembling successive layers of conventional or biodegradable thermoplastic material, such as polypropylene (PP), acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), and polylactic acid (PLA). Recently, natural or synthetic fibers are used as a filament reinforcement and incorporated into thermoplastics to manufacture composite filament. Additionally, printed materials with various lattice structures were widely designed to develop functional materials. The aim of this Special Issue is to investigate the application and development of 3D-printed functional materials using FFF. All authors are invited to contribute original research articles on filament improvement, structure design of printed material, and FFF printing technologies.

Dr. Teng-Chun Yang
Guest Editor

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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.

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Keywords

additive manufacturing
fused filament fabrication (FFF)
fiber reinforcement
filament improvement
functional materials
3D printing technologies
the structural design

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Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

17 pages, 8612 KiB

Open AccessArticle

High-Throughput Additive Manufacturing of Continuous Carbon Fiber-Reinforced Plastic by Multifilament

by Yiwen Tu, Yuegang Tan, Fan Zhang, Shulin Zou and Jun Zhang

Polymers 2024, 16(5), 704; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym16050704 - 5 Mar 2024

Viewed by 1638

Abstract

Additive manufacturing (or 3D printing) of continuous carbon fiber-reinforced plastics with fused deposition modeling is a burgeoning manufacturing method because of its potential as a powerful approach to produce lightweight, high strength and complex parts without the need for a mold. Nevertheless, it cannot manufacture parts rapidly due to low throughput. This paper proposes a high-throughput additive manufacturing of continuous carbon fiber-reinforced plastics by multifilament with reference to fiber tape placement. Three filaments were fed and compaction printed simultaneously by a robotic manufacturing system. The coupled thermal-mechanical model of the filament deformation during printing was developed to eliminate the initial interval between the filaments and improved mechanical properties. Furthermore, the mathematical relationship between filament deformation and printing parameters consisting of printing temperature, printing speed and roller pressure was proposed using response surface methodology with the line width as the response. The tensile tests demonstrate that the tensile properties of printed parts are positively correlated with the line width, but not infinitely improved. The maximum tensile strength and tensile modulus are 503.4 MPa and 83.11 Gpa, respectively, which are better than those obtained by traditional methods. Void fraction and scanning electron microscope images also reveal that the appropriate line width achieved by the reasonable printing parameters contributes to the high-throughput multifilament additive manufacturing of continuous carbon fiber-reinforced plastics. The comparison results indicate that the high-throughput multifilament additive manufacturing proposed in this paper can effectively improve the speed of continuous carbon fiber-reinforced plastics additive manufacturing without degrading the mechanical performance. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced FFF-Printed Polymeric Composites: Characterization, Modification, and Application)

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13 pages, 3793 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Properties of Heat-Treated Wood Fiber–Polylactic Acid Composite Filaments and 3D-Printed Parts Using Fused Filament Fabrication

by Yu-Chen Chien and Teng-Chun Yang

Polymers 2024, 16(2), 302; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym16020302 - 22 Jan 2024

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1367

Abstract

Wood fibers (WFs) were treated at a fixed heat temperature (180 °C) for 2−6 h and added to a polylactic acid (PLA) matrix to produce wood−PLA composite (WPC) filaments. Additionally, the effects of the heat-treated WFs on the physicomechanical properties and impact strength of the WPC filaments and 3D-printed WPC parts using fused filament fabrication (FFF) were examined. The results revealed that heat-treated WFs caused an increase in crystallinity and a significant reduction in the number of pores on the failure cross section of the WPC filament, resulting in a higher tensile modulus and lower elongation at break. Additionally, the printed WPC parts with heat-treated WFs had higher tensile strength and lower water absorption compared to untreated WPC parts. However, most of the mechanical properties and impact strength of 3D-printed WPC parts were not significantly influenced by adding heat-treated WFs. As described above, at the fixed fiber addition amount, adding heat-treated WFs improved the dimensional stability of the WPC parts and it enabled a high retention ratio of mechanical properties and impact strength of the WPC parts. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced FFF-Printed Polymeric Composites: Characterization, Modification, and Application)

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22 pages, 8758 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Optimization of 3D Printing Parameters for Enhanced Surface Quality and Wear Resistance

by Alexandra Ileana Portoacă, Razvan George Ripeanu, Alin Diniță and Maria Tănase

Polymers 2023, 15(16), 3419; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym15163419 - 16 Aug 2023

Cited by 23 | Viewed by 4805

Abstract

In recent years, there has been a growing interest in the field of 3D printing technology. Among the various technologies available, fused deposition modeling (FDM) has emerged as the most popular and widely used method. However, achieving optimal results with FDM presents a significant challenge due to the selection of appropriate process parameters. Therefore, the objective of this research was to investigate the impact of process parameters on the tribological and frictional behavior of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) and polylactic acid (PLA) 3D-printed parts. The design of experiments (DOE) technique was used considering the input design parameters (infill percentage and layer thickness) as variables. The friction coefficient values and the wear were determined by experimental testing of the polymers on a universal tribometer employing plane friction coupling. Multi-response optimization methodology and analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used to highlight the dependency between the coefficient of friction, surface roughness parameters, and wear on the process parameters. The optimization analysis revealed that the optimal 3D printing input parameters for achieving the minimum coefficient of friction and linear wear were found to be an infill percentage of 50% and layer thickness of 0.1 mm (for ABS material), and an infill percentage of 50%, layer thickness of 0.15 mm (for PLA material). The suggested optimization methodology (which involves minimizing the coefficient of friction and cumulative linear wear) through the optimized parameter obtained provides the opportunity to select the most favorable design conditions contributing to a more sustainable approach to manufacturing by reducing overall material consumption. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced FFF-Printed Polymeric Composites: Characterization, Modification, and Application)

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12 pages, 4699 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Analysis of the Effect of the Surface Inclination Angle on the Roughness of Polymeric Parts Obtained with Fused Filament Fabrication Technology

by Francisco Martín Fernández and María Jesús Martín Sánchez

Polymers 2023, 15(3), 585; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym15030585 - 23 Jan 2023

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1765

Abstract

The aim of this work was to conduct a dimensional study, in terms of microgeometry, using parts from an additive manufacturing process with fused filament fabrication (FFF) technology. As in most cases of additive manufacturing processes, curved surfaces were obtained via approximation of planes with different inclinations. The focus of this experimental study was to analyze the surface roughness of curve geometry from surface-roughness measurements of the plane surfaces that generate it. Three relevant manufacturing parameters were considered: layer height, nozzle diameter and material. Taguchi’s experimental design based on the Latin square was applied to optimize the set of specimens used. For the manufactured samples, the surface-roughness parameters Ra (roughness average), Rq (root mean square roughness) and Rz (maximum height) were obtained in eight planes of different inclinations (0° to 90°). The results were analyzed using both a graphical model and an analysis of variance study (ANOVA), demonstrating the dependency relationships among the parameters considered and surface finish. The best surface roughness was reached at 85°, with a global average Ra value of 8.66 µm, increasing the average Ra value from 6.39 µm to 11.57 µm according to the layer height increase or decreasing it slightly, from 8.91 µm to 8.41 µm, in relation to the nozzle diameter increase. On the contrary, the worst surface roughness occurred at 20°, with a global average Ra value of 19.05 µm. Additionally, the theoretical profiles and those from the surface-roughness measurement were found to coincide greatly. Eventually, the eight regression curves from the ANOVA allowed prediction of outputs from future specimens tested under different conditions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced FFF-Printed Polymeric Composites: Characterization, Modification, and Application)

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16 pages, 2670 KiB

Open AccessArticle

3D-Printed Polycaprolactone Mechanical Characterization and Suitability Assessment for Producing Wrist–Hand Orthoses

by Diana Popescu, Constantin Stochioiu, Florin Baciu and Mariana Cristiana Iacob

Polymers 2023, 15(3), 576; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym15030576 - 22 Jan 2023

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 3367

Abstract

In this research, the mechanical properties of 3D-printed polycaprolactone (PCL), a biocompatible and biodegradable semi-crystalline polyester, available as feedstock for additive manufacturing technology based on the material extrusion process, were determined. The influence of the infill pattern (zig-zag vs. gyroid) and ultraviolet (UV-B) exposure over the specimens’ mechanical performances were also investigated to gather relevant data on the process parameter settings for different applications. Specimens and samples of 3D-printed PCL were analyzed through tensile and flexural tests. The experimental data showed the good repeatability of the manufacturing process, as well as a mechanical behavior independent of the specimens’ infill pattern at full density. No differences between the failure patterns of the tensile specimens were recorded. UV-B exposure proved to have a significant negative impact on the specimens’ tensile strength. The 3D printing of PCL and PCL blends is reported mainly for use in scaffold manufacturing or drug delivery applications. As another novelty, the suitability of commercial PCL filaments for producing patient-customized wrist–hand orthoses was also assessed in this study. Semi-cylindrical PCL samples mimicking the forearm part of a wrist–hand orthosis with hexagonal open pockets were 3D-printed and mechanically tested. The results were discussed in comparison to samples with a similar design, made of polylactic acid. The experiments revealed the need to carefully calibrate the manufacturing parameters to generate defect-free, good quality prints. Once settings were established, promising results were obtained when producing orthoses in a ready-to-use form. On the other hand, the attempts to thermoform flat 3D-printed PCL orthoses proved unsuccessful. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced FFF-Printed Polymeric Composites: Characterization, Modification, and Application)

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16 pages, 1753 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Modeling of Single-Process 3D-Printed Piezoelectric Sensors with Resistive Electrodes: The Low-Pass Filtering Effect

by Tilen Košir and Janko Slavič

Polymers 2023, 15(1), 158; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym15010158 - 29 Dec 2022

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2485

Abstract

Three-dimensional printing by material extrusion enables the production of fully functional dynamic piezoelectric sensors in a single process. Because the complete product is finished without additional processes or assembly steps, single-process manufacturing opens up new possibilities in the field of smart dynamic structures. However, due to material limitations, the 3D-printed piezoelectric sensors contain electrodes with significantly higher electrical resistance than classical piezoelectric sensors. The continuous distribution of the capacitance of the piezoelectric layer and the resistance of the electrodes results in low-pass filtering of the collected charge. Consequently, the usable frequency range of 3D-printed piezoelectric sensors is limited not only by the structural properties but also by the electrical properties. This research introduces an analytical model for determining the usable frequency range of a 3D-printed piezoelectric sensor with resistive electrodes. The model was used to determine the low-pass cutoff frequency and thus the usable frequency range of the 3D-printed piezoelectric sensor. The low-pass electrical cutoff frequency of the 3D-printed piezoelectric sensor was also experimentally investigated and good agreement was found with the analytical model. Based on this research, it is possible to design the electrical and dynamic characteristics of 3D-printed piezoelectric sensors. This research opens new possibilities for the design of future intelligent dynamic systems 3D printed in a single process. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced FFF-Printed Polymeric Composites: Characterization, Modification, and Application)

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