Effect of the printing bed temperature on the adhesion of parts produced by fused filament fabrication

• Published in: Plastics, rubber & composites Vol. 47; no. 1; pp. 17 - 24
• Main Authors: Spoerk, Martin, Gonzalez-Gutierrez, Joamin, Sapkota, Janak, Schuschnigg, Stephan, Holzer, Clemens
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London, England Taylor & Francis 02.01.2018; SAGE Publications
• Subjects: acrylonitrile butadiene styrene; Additive manufacturing; adhesion; contact angle measurements; fused filament fabrication; glass transition temperature; morphology; polylactic acid; contact angle measurements; polylactic acid; morphology; fused filament fabrication; Additive manufacturing; adhesion; glass transition temperature; acrylonitrile butadiene styrene
• ISSN: 1465-8011; 1743-2898
• DOI: 10.1080/14658011.2017.1399531

For parts produced by fused filament fabrication (FFF) the adhesion between the first printed layer and the printing bed is crucial, since it provides the foundation to the subsequent layers. Inadequate adhesion can result in poor printing quality or destroyed bed surfaces. This study aims at understanding and optimising the adhesion process for parts produced by FFF. The consequences of varying printing bed temperatures on the adhesion of two commonly used printing materials on two standard bed surfaces were investigated by means of an in-house built adhesion measurement device and complemented by contact angle measurements. This study shows a significant increase in adhesion forces, when printing parts at a bed temperature slightly above the glass transition temperature of the printing material.