Three-Dimensional Printing of Abrasive, Hard, and Thermally Conductive Synthetic Microdiamond–Polymer Composite Using Low-Cost Fused Deposition Modeling Printer

Abstract

A relative lack of printable materials with tailored functional properties limits the applicability of three-dimensional (3D) printing. In this work, a diamond−acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) composite filament for use in 3D printing was created through incorporation of high-pressure and hightemperature (HPHT) synthetic microdiamonds as a filler. Homogenously distributed diamond composite filaments, containing either 37.5 or 60 wt % microdiamonds, were formed through preblending the diamond powder with ABS, followed by subsequent multiple fiber extrusions. The thermal conductivity of the ABS base material increased from 0.17 to 0.94 W/(m•K), more than fivefold following incorporation of the microdiamonds. The elastic modulus for the 60 wt % microdiamond containing composite material increased by 41.9% with respect to pure ABS, from 1050 to 1490 MPa. The hydrophilicity also increased by 32%. A low-cost fused deposition modeling printer was customized to handle the highly abrasive composite filament by replacing the conventional (stainless-steel) filament feeding gear with a harder titanium gear. To demonstrate improved thermal performance of 3D printed devices using the new composite filament, a number of composite heat sinks were printed and characterized. Heat dissipation measurements demonstrated that 3D printed heat sinks containing 60 wt % diamond increased the thermal dissipation by 42%.

Incorporating Aminated Nanodiamonds to Improve the Mechanical Properties of 3D-Printed Resin-Based Biomedical Appliances

“…Intraoral appliances in orthodontics are prescribed for long continuous periods of wear; consequently, improvements in surface wettability will lead to improvements in retention between oral mucosa and the intaglio surface [33]. In the present study, the surface features of the ND were observed to influence the features of the polymer surface, with markedly significant reductions in water contact angle observed for both the ND-and A-ND-nanocomposite groups, in agreement with the observations of a previous study and highlighting the influence of the hydrophilic nature of diamond [34]. The difference between the ND-and A-ND-incorporated groups, however, can be attributed to changes in the surface chemistry resulting from the addition of amino groups, which reduces the surface reactivity of the oxygenated outer shell compared to that of pure ND, as previously described [35].…”

Bioprinting a cell‐laden matrix for bone regeneration: A focused review

“…FDM technology (Figure 1(c)) is a low cost, simple, high speed, and commonly used method to fabricate thermoplastic‐based scaffolds. Herein, filaments melt into the semiliquid state and then extruded layer‐by‐layer through the nozzle on the platform according to the 3D designed file 54 . Thus, the viscosity of the semi‐molten filament affects the final structure and its printability and accuracy 55 .…”

3D printing of copper particles and poly(methyl methacrylate) beads containing poly(lactic acid) composites for enhancing thermomechanical properties

“…The 3D printed ABS composites with 35 wt% of BN showed an improvement on thermal conductivity of five‐fold and a modest increase in the flexural modulus compared to that of the pure ABS matrix. In addition, Waheed et al 22 prepared the thermally conductive microdiamond filled ABS composites using FDM method. The resultant composites showed the highest thermal conductivity of 0.94 W m −1 K −1 with 60 wt% of microdiamond loading.…”