The work presented here describes a paradigm for the design of materials for additive manufacturing platforms based on taking advantage of unique physical properties imparted upon the material by the fabrication process. We sought to further investigate past work with binary shape memory polymer blends, which indicated that phase texturization caused by the fused filament fabrication (FFF) process enhanced shape memory properties. In this work, two multi-constituent shape memory polymer systems were developed where the miscibility parameter was the guide in material selection. A comparison with injection molded specimens was also carried out to further investigate the ability of the FFF process to enable enhanced shape memory characteristics as compared to other manufacturing methods. It was found that blend combinations with more closely matching miscibility parameters were more apt at yielding reliable shape memory polymer systems. However, when miscibility parameters differed, a pathway towards the creation of shape memory polymer systems capable of maintaining more than one temporary shape at a time was potentially realized. Additional aspects related to impact modifying of rigid thermoplastics as well as thermomechanical processing on induced crystallinity are also explored. Overall, this work serves as another example in the advancement of additive manufacturing via materials development.

Additive manufacturing platforms that rely on thermoplastic feedstock materials are now expected to fabricate components intended for deployment in a wide variety of environments, necessitating an understanding of the ability of a material to perform within a broad range of conditions. The work presented here explored the effect of submerging two polyester materials widely used in fused filament fabrication processes in five common liquid media: distilled water, apple cider vinegar, Mexican Cocacola, 200 proof ethanol and distilled white vinegar for a seven day duration. Mechanical testing, dynamic mechanical analysis and characterization of the fracture surfaces via scanning electron microscopy were used to understand the effect of liquid media exposure. The effects of polymer degradation due to hygroscopic and hydrolytic mechanisms effects were documented. The need for specific procedures for the testing of the environmental effects on the degradation of additively manufactured polymeric components is also highlighted.