Deposition-induced effects of isotactic polypropylene and polycarbonate composites during fused deposition modeling

Abstract

Purpose Although the feasibility and effectiveness of the fused deposition modeling (FDM) method have been proposed and developed, studies of applying this technology to various materials are still needed for researching its applicability, especially with regard to polymer blends and composites. The purpose of this paper is to study the deposition-induced effect and the effect of compatibilizers on the mechanical properties of polypropylene and polycarbonate (PP/PC) composites. Design/methodology/approach For this purpose, three different deposition modes for PP/PC composites with or without compatibilizers were used for the FDM method and tested for tensile properties. Also, parts with the same materials were made by injection molding and used for comparison. In addition, different deposition speeds were used to investigate the different deposition-induced effects. Furthermore, the behavior of the mechanical properties was clarified with scanning electron microscope images of the fracture surfaces. Findings The research results suggest that the deposition orientation has a significant influence on the mechanical behavior of PP/PC composite FDM parts. The results also indicate that there is a close relationship between the mechanical properties and morphological structures which are deeply influenced by compatibilization. Compared with injection molded parts, the ductility of the FDM parts can be dramatically improved due to the formation of fibrils and micro-fibrils by the deposition induced during processing. Originality/value This is the first paper to investigate a PP/PC composite FDM process. The results of this paper verified the applicability of PP/PC composites to FDM technology. It is also the first time that the deposition-induced effect during FDM has been investigated and studied.

Material extrusion‐based additive manufacturing of polypropylene: A review on how to improve dimensional inaccuracy and warpage

“…Apart from studies dealing with PP as a base compound for highly filled systems, in which the polymeric part is burnt away before the sintering step, only a handful of studies on neat PP have so far been conducted for the use in ME‐AM. Next, to PP‐based blends used for ME‐AM and PP blends based on polymeric waste, Volpato et al . used neat PP for one of the first times in an extrusion‐based AM approach by feeding the material in the shape of pellets into their self‐designed piston‐driven 3D printer.…”

“…This can be a challenging factor for composites that contain high percentages of fillers. The addition of small amounts of amorphous polymers such as poly(vinyl chloride), polycarbonate (PC), or amorphous polyolefins to PP‐based composites can provide a remedy as it increases the yield strain.…”

Fracture Resistance Analysis of 3D-Printed Polymers

“…Generally, 3D-printed parts fabricated by different techniques differ in terms of strength, stiffness, microstructure and material properties, so that it is necessary to investigate their behaviors through both experimental tests and finite element analysis (FEA) [6][7][8][9][10]. Fused deposition modeling 3D printing has shown promising capabilities to improve the specific mechanical properties of parts-such as fracture toughness-by optimization of extrusion deposition trajectories [11].…”

“…Fused deposition modeling 3D printing has shown promising capabilities to improve the specific mechanical properties of parts-such as fracture toughness-by optimization of extrusion deposition trajectories [11]. It is reported that the filament direction optimization contributed to a large deformation zone leading to "ductile-like behavior", which subsequently caused a slow crack propagation rate [9]. Also, using 3D printing for developing co-continuous composite or interpenetrating phase composite parts proved a significant increase of damage tolerance and fracture toughness compared to conventionally manufacture composite parts [12].…”

Improvement of the dispersity of micro‐nano particles for PP/PVC composites using gas‐assisted dispersion in a controlled foaming process

“…c'). It is similar to the formation of higher interconnectivity of fiber‐type filler in the matrix that results from the introduction of cellular inclusions . Furthermore, the nanoparticles easily aggregate due to their high surface energy, and the gas separating from the melt decreases the surface energy, leading to an increased dispersal effect.…”