Inkjet printing of polylactic acid on substrates prepared by fused deposition modeling and its potential for selective surface finishing

Abstract

Fused deposition modeling (FDM) is an additive manufacturing technology commonly used for prototyping. One limiting aspect for the use in functional prototyping and small-lot production is the achievable surface roughness. The aim of this work was to investigate a potential method of processing polylactic acid (PLA), as it is commonly used for FDM printing, via inkjet technology. PLA solvent inks with different concentrations were prepared by dissolving PLA in 1,4-dioxane. The tested PLA substrates were prepared by FDM with different layer thicknesses and the change in surface roughness after multilayer inkjet printing was measured by a stylus profilometer. The surface roughness was reduced by up to 50% and further increasing the number of inkjet layers caused voids and PLA accumulations.

Additive Manufacturing as a Method to Design and Optimize Bioinspired Structures

“…In some cases, it is necessary to thermally cure or photopolymerize the inks after printing. Additionally, the surface roughness and quality typically need to be improved as a result of the layer‐by‐layer generation of the printed part . Chemical or mechanical abrasions can be used to improve surface quality.…”

A finishing process via ultrasonic drilling for additively manufactured carbon fiber composites

“…Substantial experimental and theoretical research efforts have been undertaken to improve the surface quality of 3D printed components. The influence of layer thickness, wall thickness and build orientation have found to be specifically significant to the surface roughness of FDM samples, while printing path, printing speed and nozzle temperature displayed no significant effect on surface quality (Altan et al, 2018;Anitha et al, 2001;Ayrilmis, 2018;Das et al, 2017;Köpplmayr and Mühlberger, 2016;Mohamed et al, 2017;Pandey et al, 2003;Pérez et al, 2018;Gordeev et al, 2018). Optimizing the design by eliminating microscopic structural defects was also proven useful in achieving superior quality in 3D printed parts.…”