Experimental study on tensile strength of copper microparticles filled polymer composites printed by fused deposition modelling process

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the variables of the fused deposition modelling (FDM) process and improve their effect on the mechanical properties of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) components reinforced with copper microparticles. Design/methodology/approach In the experimental approach, after drying the ABS granule, it was mixed with copper microparticles (at concentrations of 5%, 8% and 10%) in a single screw extruder to fabricate pure ABS and composite filaments. Then, by making the components by the FDM process, the tensile strength of the parts was determined through tensile strength tests. Taguchi DOE method was used to design the experiments in which nozzle temperature, filling pattern and layer thickness were the design variables. The analysis of variance (ANOVA) and signal-to-noise analysis were conducted to determine the effectiveness of each FDM process parameter on the ultimate tensile strength of printed samples. Following that, the main effect analysis was used to optimize each process parameter for pure ABS and its composite at different copper contents. Findings The study allows the layer thickness and filling pattern had the highest effects on the ultimate tensile strength of the printed materials (pure and composite) in the FDM process. Moreover, the results show that the ultimate tensile strength of the ABS composite containing 5% copper was nearly 12.3% higher than the pure ABS part. According to validation tests, the maximum error of experiments was about 0.96%. Originality/value In this paper, the effect of copper microparticles (as filling agent) was investigated on the ultimate tensile strength of printed ABS material during the FDM process.

Fused deposition modelling: Current status, methodology, applications and future prospects

“…During the COVID-19 pandemic, FDM was used as an alternative production method to produce personal protective equipment (PPE) such as face masks and respirator face shields [20][21][22]. A significant number of new types of materials designed for FDM have been developed between 2020 and 2021 including new fibre-reinforced composites with superior mechanical properties [23][24][25][26][27][28], advanced polymer-based nanocomposites prepared with the addition of carbon nanomaterials [29][30][31][32] and many other types of polymer-based composites [33][34][35][36] with enhanced physical properties. New ceramicbased materials made of polymer and ceramic powder such as Al2O3 [37], hydroxyapatite [38] or dense zirconia [39] have been developed for FDM.…”

Polymeric composites in extrusion‐based additive manufacturing: a systematic review

“…Besides, additives, such as surfactants and plasticizers, might be required to improve the flow, dispersion, and toughness properties of the composite 189 . As presented in Table 5, polymer‐metal composites for extrusion 3D printing have been successfully obtained with copper, 97,106,114,127,146,166 iron, 75,114,166 and aluminum 112,137,172 as the most frequent fillers, but also with silver ion, 70 the tin‐bismuth alloy, 155 bronze, 166 and stainless steel 166 . Even though the enhancement of mechanical resistance is not the priority when exploring this type of composite, it has already been achieved, 137 and its non‐detriment has proven possible 112,166 .…”

“…The highest ultimate tensile strength was achieved with 5 wt.% filler content, 250°C nozzle temperature, 0.1 mm layer height, and 0/90 infill pattern. 106 The combination of 244.9°C printing temperature, 0.2 mm layer height, and zig-zag infill pattern provided the optimized set of tensile, compressive, and flexural strength. 127 Exponential increase in the thermal conductivity.…”

Investigation into tensile behavior of 3D printed nylon-based low and high-volume fraction carbon fiber composite

“…The advanced polymer composites of a different combination of matrix and fiber by 3D printing have enormous usability in different modes of industrial applications (Lubombo and Huneault, 2018; Wang et al , 2021; Singh et al , 2020; Wang et al , 2017; Adibi and Hashemi, 2022; Barzegar et al , 2022; Ehteshamfar et al , 2022). Specifically, in the aviation and automobile industry, nylon as a matrix is one of the most extensively used engineering polymers due to its excellent chemical and wear resistance and good mechanical qualities (Ferraro et al , 2014; Naskar et al , 2016).…”