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Specialty Polymers for Additive Manufacturing
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Specialty Polymers for Additive Manufacturing

A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Manufacturing Processes and Systems".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2021) | Viewed by 10976

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Jochen Schmidt

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Particle Technology, University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Cauerstraße 4, D-91058 Erlangen, Germany
Interests: additive manufacturing (AM); particle technology; comminution; emulsification; bulk solids

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Additive manufacturing (AM) summarizes different technologies that allow for the manufacture of functional parts without shaping tools from viscous, powdery or layered material systems. In recent years, a vast rising interest in AM is notable, as these manufacturing methods allow for the production of complex and individualized parts with novel functionalities. With respect to the AM of polymers, powder bed fusion (PBF) in particular, often referred to as laser sintering (LS) or selective laser sintering (SLS), as well as fused deposition modeling (FDM) and stereo lithography (SLA) are promising. A current drawback limiting the use of AM-produced parts is the limited choice of (commercially) available polymer materials: For example, in powder bed fusion of polymers, more than 90 percent of the market share by now is made up of polyamide powders, mostly polyamide 12.

This Special Issue calls for papers that report on the development (production and functionalization) and characterization of novel specialty (‘non-standard’) polymer materials for the aforementioned AM processes (and variants), such as novel resin systems, high-temperature thermoplasts, biopolymers, polymer blends or filled polymers. Of course, contributions that also report on the AM processability of these novel polymer materials, part characterization, or the application of the produced parts are highly welcome.

Dr. Jochen Schmidt
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Materials is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • development, characterization and processing of novel materials for powder bed fusion (PBF) of polymers
  • laser sintering (LS)
  • selective laser sintering (SLS)
  • fused deposition modeling (FDM)
  • stereo lithography (SLA)

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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18 pages, 6656 KiB  
Article
Analysis of the Nanoparticle Dispersion and Its Effect on the Crystalline Microstructure in Carbon-Additivated PA12 Feedstock Material for Laser Powder Bed Fusion
by Tim Hupfeld, Alexander Sommereyns, Farbod Riahi, Carlos Doñate-Buendía, Stan Gann, Michael Schmidt, Bilal Gökce and Stephan Barcikowski
Materials 2020, 13(15), 3312; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma13153312 - 24 Jul 2020
Cited by 15 | Viewed by 3390
Abstract
Driven by the rapid development of additive manufacturing technologies and the trend towards mass customization, the development of new feedstock materials has become a key aspect. Additivation of the feedstock with nanoparticles is a possible route for tailoring the feedstock material to the [...] Read more.
Driven by the rapid development of additive manufacturing technologies and the trend towards mass customization, the development of new feedstock materials has become a key aspect. Additivation of the feedstock with nanoparticles is a possible route for tailoring the feedstock material to the printing process and to modify the properties of the printed parts. This study demonstrates the colloidal additivation of PA12 powder with laser-synthesized carbon nanoparticles at >95% yield, focusing on the dispersion of the nanoparticles on the polymer microparticle surface at nanoparticle loadings below 0.05 vol%. In addition to the descriptors “wt%” and “vol%”, the descriptor “surf%” is discussed for characterizing the quantity and quality of nanoparticle loading based on scanning electron microscopy. The functionalized powders are further characterized by confocal dark field scattering, differential scanning calorimetry, powder rheology measurements (avalanche angle and Hausner ratio), and regarding their processability in laser powder bed fusion (PBF-LB). We find that heterogeneous nucleation is induced even at a nanoparticle loading of just 0.005 vol%. Finally, analysis of the effect of low nanoparticle loadings on the final parts’ microstructure by polarization microscopy shows a nanoparticle loading-dependent change of the dimensions of the lamellar microstructures within the printed part. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Specialty Polymers for Additive Manufacturing)
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18 pages, 4992 KiB  
Article
Development of Polyoxymethylene Particles via the Solution-Dissolution Process and Application to the Powder Bed Fusion of Polymers
by Maximilian A. Dechet, Ina Baumeister and Jochen Schmidt
Materials 2020, 13(7), 1535; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma13071535 - 27 Mar 2020
Cited by 20 | Viewed by 3048
Abstract
In this study, the development of a polyoxymethylene (POM) feedstock material for the powder bed fusion (PBF) of polymers is outlined. POM particles are obtained via liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) and precipitation, also known as the solution-dissolution process. In order to identify suitable [...] Read more.
In this study, the development of a polyoxymethylene (POM) feedstock material for the powder bed fusion (PBF) of polymers is outlined. POM particles are obtained via liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) and precipitation, also known as the solution-dissolution process. In order to identify suitable POM solvent systems for LLPS and precipitation, in the first step, a solvent screening based on solubility parameters was performed, and acetophenone and triacetin were identified as the most promising suitable moderate solvents for POM. Cloud point curves were measured for both solvents to derive suitable temperature profiles and polymer concentrations for the solution-dissolution process. In the next step, important process parameters, namely POM concentration and stirring conditions, were studied to elucidate their effect on the product’s properties. The product particles obtained from both aforementioned solvents were characterized with regard to their morphology and size distribution, as well as their thermal properties (cf. the PBF processing window) and compared to a cryo-milled POM PBF feedstock. Both solvents allowed for precipitation of POM particles of an appropriate size distribution for PBF for polymer concentrations of at least up to 20 wt.%. Finally, a larger powder batch for application in the PBF process was produced by precipitation from the preferred solvent acetophenone. This POM powder was further analyzed concerning its flowability, Hausner ratio, and mass-specific surface area. Finally, test specimens, namely a complex gyroid body and a detailed ornament, were successfully manufactured from this feedstock powder showing appropriate bulk solid and thermal properties to demonstrate PBF processability. In summary, a processable and suitable POM PBF feedstock could be developed based on the non-mechanical solution dissolution process, which, to the authors’ best knowledge, has not been reported in previous studies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Specialty Polymers for Additive Manufacturing)
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Review

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25 pages, 30911 KiB  
Review
Laser Powder Bed Fusion of Polymers: Quantitative Research Direction Indices
by Ihsan Murat Kusoglu, Carlos Doñate-Buendía, Stephan Barcikowski and Bilal Gökce
Materials 2021, 14(5), 1169; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma14051169 - 02 Mar 2021
Cited by 30 | Viewed by 3946
Abstract
Research on Laser Powder Bed Fusion (L-PBF) of polymer powder feedstocks has raised over the last decade due to the increased utilization of the fabricated parts in aerospace, automotive, electronics, and healthcare applications. A total of 600 Science Citation Indexed articles were published [...] Read more.
Research on Laser Powder Bed Fusion (L-PBF) of polymer powder feedstocks has raised over the last decade due to the increased utilization of the fabricated parts in aerospace, automotive, electronics, and healthcare applications. A total of 600 Science Citation Indexed articles were published on the topic of L-PBF of polymer powder feedstocks in the last decade, being cited more than 10,000 times leading to an h-index of 46. This study statistically evaluates the 100 most cited articles to extract reported material, process, and as-built part properties to analyze the research trends. PA12, PEEK, and TPU are the most employed polymer powder feedstocks, while size, flowability, and thermal behavior are the standardly reported material properties. Likewise, process properties such as laser power, scanning speed, hatch spacing, powder layer thickness, volumetric energy density, and areal energy density are extracted and evaluated. In addition, material and process properties of the as-built parts such as tensile test, flexural test, and volumetric porosity contents are analyzed. The incorporation of additives is found to be an effective route to enhance mechanical and functional properties. Carbon-based additives are typically employed in applications where mechanical properties are essential. Carbon fibers, Ca-phosphates, and SiO2 are the most reported additives in the evaluated SCI-expanded articles for L-PBF of polymer powder feedstocks. A comprehensive data matrix is extracted from the evaluated SCI-index publications, and a principal component analysis (PCA) is performed to explore correlations between reported material, process, and as-built parts. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Specialty Polymers for Additive Manufacturing)
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