With the development of 3D printing technology, there is a need to produce printable materials with improved properties, e.g., sliding properties. In this paper, the authors present the possibilities of producing composites based on biodegradable PLA with the addition of graphite. The team created composites with the following graphite weight contents: 1%, 2.5%, 5%, 7.5%, and 10%. Neat material was also subjected to testing. Tribological, mechanical, and chemical properties of the mentioned materials were examined. Measurements were also made after keeping the samples in ageing and climatic ovens. Furthermore, SEM observations of samples before and after friction tests were carried out. It was demonstrated that increasing graphite content caused a significant decrease in wear (PLA + 10% graphite had a wear rate three times lower than for a neat material). The addition of graphite did not adversely affect most of the other properties, but it ought to be noted that mechanical properties changed significantly. After conditioning in a climatic oven PLA + 10% graphite has (in comparison with neat material) 11% lower fracture stress, 47% lower impact strength, and 21% higher Young’s modulus. It can be certainly stated that the addition of graphite to PLA is a step towards obtaining a material that is low-cost and suitable for printing sliding spare parts.
The article presents the results of basic tribological research of polylactide enriched with MoS2 powder. The
research was conducted on a pin-on-disc station. Samples dimensions: 8 mm height, 8 mm diameter, printed
in FFF/FDM method. Two mass percentages of addition were created: 1% and 2.5%. As counter-specimen
steel (C45) disc was used. Ra roughness of counter-specimen was in the range of 0.3–0.4. The main purpose is
to determine optimal, in the light of tribological properties, mass percentage values of additions in polylactide
in the 3D printing application. The research has shown that materials with more MoS2 addition would not be
a good material for use in the production of prototype bearings, due to increased linear wear. It is also worth
noting that the MoS2 addition improves material properties in terms of the 3D printing process. Thanks to the
addition, even up to 1%, the required temperature of the printing nozzle has been significantly reduced, as well
as flow resistance in the nozzle.
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