Polymer Composites Used in Rapid Prototyping Technology

• Published in: Advances in Manufacturing Science and Technology Vol. 44; no. 1; pp. 15 - 20
• Main Authors: Bulanda, Katarzyna, Oleksy, Mariusz, Oliwa, Rafał, Budzik, Grzegorz, Markowski, Tadeusz
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Sciendo 28.04.2020
• Subjects: 3D printing; composites; FDM; metal nanofiller; polymer processing
• ISSN: 2300-2565; 2300-2565
• DOI: 10.2478/amst-2019-0003

New materials and filaments dedicated to 3D printing were obtained using the fused deposition modeling method, and the properties of the produced materials were investigated. Polylactide was used as a polymer base for the assays because of the desired properties of the polymer, mainly biodegradability, and the matrix was refilled by the addition of metallic nanofillers, such as bronze, copper, brass, and steel. For the composites obtained, mechanical properties were investigated to determine the dependence of the obtained results on the content and type of filler used and on the method of fabrication of the fittings. It was found that the additives present in the polymer matrix increased the fluidity of the material. The best results were obtained for the compositions with bronze and steel in which the mass flow rate was 72.97 and 79.99 g/10 min, respectively. The filled material that had lower hardness was measured by Rockwell and the impact strength was measured by Charpy. In addition, it was found that injection-molded parts obtained much better mechanical properties than those obtained by 3D printing.