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Polymers
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3D Printing in Wood Science
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3D Printing in Wood Science

A special issue of Polymers (ISSN 2073-4360). This special issue belongs to the section "Polymer Processing and Engineering".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (28 February 2022) | Viewed by 28418

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Mirko Kariz

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Wood Science and Technology, Biotechnical Faculty, Jamnikarjeva ulica 101, University of Ljubljana, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
Interests: 3D printing; wood; wood plastic composites; 3D modeling; computer simulations; thermal modification of wood; adhesive bonding of wood; product design

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

3D printing has grown in importance over the past decade. New technologies and materials have been developed for specific purposes, and printers are becoming more complex, but also more affordable and easier to use. The role of 3D printers has evolved from expensive machines that produce only prototypes to machines that produce small batches, with each product customized to the customer’s needs.

Environmental awareness has also increased in recent years, and in the search for better and healthier materials for 3D printing, wood and other natural lignocellulosic materials are being offered as substitutes for some of the polymers of synthetic/oil origin. Wood can be used as a filler or functional component in 3D printing materials, depending on particle size, aspect ratio, polymers, additives, and the production process used. In some cases, wood components such as lignin, cellulose fibers or even nanocellulose are used in 3D printing materials to improve the properties of composite materials. Continuous fiber printing as a subset of high-performance 3D-printed composites is also developing with natural fibers.

Wood is a natural material, and in addition to its positive properties, it also shows some undesirable characteristics, such as hygroscopicity and thus dimensional change. However, this property could also be used to create new smart materials, shape-changing designs that react to external stimuli and are thus part of the next step in evolution—4D printing.

The natural cell structure of wood could be a source of ideas (inspiration) for improving 3D print infill structures with low mass and high mechanical properties. Last but not least, wood particles for use in 3D printing materials are often made from wood wastes, thus adding value to this low-value residue material from other woodworking industries.

The aim of this Special Issue is to showcase research into the possibilities of using wood in 3D printing, the properties of the products produced in this way, and new findings in this growing field, thus helping to strengthen the role of wood and highlight its potential in the age of additive manufacturing.

Given your outstanding contribution to this interesting field of research, I would like to invite you to share our enthusiasm for wood and 3D printing by submitting a contribution to this Special Issue via the journal’s website. I would be pleased if you could let me know as soon as possible whether you are interested in submitting an article.

Dr. Mirko Kariž
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. Polymers 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 2700 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.

Published Papers (8 papers)

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Research

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14 pages, 13232 KiB  
Article
Wood Warping Composite by 3D Printing
by Doron Kam, Ido Levin, Yinnon Kutner, Omri Lanciano, Eran Sharon, Oded Shoseyov and Shlomo Magdassi
Polymers 2022, 14(4), 733; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/polym14040733 - 14 Feb 2022
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 3772
Abstract
Wood warping is a phenomenon known as a deformation in wood that occurs when changes in moisture content cause an unevenly volumetric change due to fiber orientation. Here we present an investigation of wood warped objects that were fabricated by 3D printing. Similar [...] Read more.
Wood warping is a phenomenon known as a deformation in wood that occurs when changes in moisture content cause an unevenly volumetric change due to fiber orientation. Here we present an investigation of wood warped objects that were fabricated by 3D printing. Similar to natural wood warping, water evaporation causes volume decrease of the printed object, but in contrast, the printing pathway pattern and flow rate dictate the direction of the alignment and its intensity, all of which can be predesigned and affect the resulting structure after drying. The fabrication of the objects was performed by an extrusion-based 3D printing technique that enables the deposition of water-based inks into 3D objects. The printing ink was composed of 100% wood-based materials, wood flour, and plant-extracted natural binders cellulose nanocrystals, and xyloglucan, without the need for any additional synthetic resins. Two archetypal structures were printed: cylindrical structure and helices. In the former, we identified a new length scale that gauges the effect of gravity on the shape. In the latter, the structure exhibited a shape transition analogous to the opening of a seedpod, quantitatively reproducing theoretical predictions. Together, by carefully tuning the flow rate and printing pathway, the morphology of the fully dried wooden objects can be controlled. Hence, it is possible to design the printing of wet objects that will form different final 3D structures. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue 3D Printing in Wood Science)
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16 pages, 9024 KiB  
Article
Effective Stiffness of Fused Deposition Modeling Infill Lattice Patterns Made of PLA-Wood Material
by Enrique Cuan-Urquizo, Alberto Álvarez-Trejo, Andrés Robles Gil, Viridiana Tejada-Ortigoza, Carmita Camposeco-Negrete, Esmeralda Uribe-Lam and Cecilia D. Treviño-Quintanilla
Polymers 2022, 14(2), 337; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/polym14020337 - 15 Jan 2022
Cited by 16 | Viewed by 2481
Abstract
Fused deposition modeling (FDM) uses lattice arrangements, known as infill, within the fabricated part. The mechanical properties of parts fabricated via FDM are dependent on these infill patterns, which make their study of great relevance. One of the advantages of FDM is the [...] Read more.
Fused deposition modeling (FDM) uses lattice arrangements, known as infill, within the fabricated part. The mechanical properties of parts fabricated via FDM are dependent on these infill patterns, which make their study of great relevance. One of the advantages of FDM is the wide range of materials that can be employed using this technology. Among these, polylactic acid (PLA)-wood has been recently gaining attention as it has become commercially available. In this work, the stiffness of two different lattice structures fabricated from PLA-wood material using FDM are studied: hexagonal and star. Rectangular samples with four different infill densities made of PLA-wood material were fabricated via FDM. Samples were subjected to 3-point bending to characterize the effective stiffness and their sensitivity to shear deformation. Lattice beams proved to be more sensitive to shear deformations, as including the contribution of shear in the apparent stiffness of these arrangements leads to more accurate results. This was evaluated by comparing the effective Young’s modulus characterized from 3-point bending using equations with and without shear inclusion. A longer separation between supports yielded closer results between both models (~41% for the longest separation tested). The effective stiffness as a function of the infill density of both topologies showed similar trends. However, the maximum difference obtained at low densities was the hexagonal topology that was ~60% stiffer, while the lowest difference was obtained at higher densities (star topology being stiffer by ~20%). Results for stiffness of PLA-wood samples were scattered. This was attributed to the defects at the lattice element level inherent to the material employed in this study, confirmed via micro-characterization. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue 3D Printing in Wood Science)
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13 pages, 3410 KiB  
Article
Improving UV Curing in Organosolv Lignin-Containing Photopolymers for Stereolithography by Reduction and Acylation
by Jordan T. Sutton, Kalavathy Rajan, David P. Harper and Stephen C. Chmely
Polymers 2021, 13(20), 3473; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/polym13203473 - 10 Oct 2021
Cited by 16 | Viewed by 3607
Abstract
Despite recent successes in incorporating lignin into photoactive resins, lignin photo-properties can be detrimental to its application in UV-curable photopolymers, especially in specialized engineered resins for use in stereolithography printing. We report on chemical modification techniques employed to reduce UV absorption by lignin [...] Read more.
Despite recent successes in incorporating lignin into photoactive resins, lignin photo-properties can be detrimental to its application in UV-curable photopolymers, especially in specialized engineered resins for use in stereolithography printing. We report on chemical modification techniques employed to reduce UV absorption by lignin and the resulting mechanical, thermal, and cure properties of these modified lignin materials. Lignin was modified using reduction and acylation reactions and incorporated into a 3D printable resin formulation. UV–Vis absorption at the 3D printing range of 405 nm was reduced in all modified lignins compared to the unmodified sample by 25% to ≥ 60%. Resins made with the modified lignins showed an increase in stiffness and strength with lower thermal stability. Studying these techniques is an important step in developing lignin for use in UV-curing applications and further the effort to valorize lignin towards commercial use. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue 3D Printing in Wood Science)
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14 pages, 13558 KiB  
Article
Additive Manufacturing of Wood Composite Panels for Individual Layer Fabrication (ILF)
by Birger Buschmann, Klaudius Henke, Daniel Talke, Bettina Saile, Carsten Asshoff and Frauke Bunzel
Polymers 2021, 13(19), 3423; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/polym13193423 - 06 Oct 2021
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 3384
Abstract
The renewable resource, wood, is becoming increasingly popular as a feedstock material for additive manufacturing (AM). It can help make those processes more affordable and reduce their environmental impact. Individual layer fabrication (ILF) is a novel AM process conceived for structural applications. In [...] Read more.
The renewable resource, wood, is becoming increasingly popular as a feedstock material for additive manufacturing (AM). It can help make those processes more affordable and reduce their environmental impact. Individual layer fabrication (ILF) is a novel AM process conceived for structural applications. In ILF, parts are formed by laminating thin, individually contoured panels of wood composites which are fabricated additively by binder jetting. The individual fabrication of single panels allows the application of mechanical pressure in manufacturing those board-like elements, leading to a reduction of binder contend and an increase of mechanical strength. In this paper, the ILF process is described in detail, geometric and processing limitations are identified, and the mechanical properties of the intermediate product (panels) are presented. It is shown that the thickness of panels significantly influences the geometric accuracy. Wood composite panels from spruce chips and pMDI adhesive showed flexural strengths between 24.00 and 52.45 MPa with adhesive contents between 6.98 and 17.00 wt %. Thus, the panels meet the mechanical requirements for usage in the European construction industry. Additionally, they have significantly lower binder contents than previously investigated additively manufactured wood composites. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue 3D Printing in Wood Science)
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16 pages, 2887 KiB  
Article
Hygromorphic Response Dynamics of 3D-Printed Wood-PLA Composite Bilayer Actuators
by Daša Krapež Tomec, Aleš Straže, Andreas Haider and Mirko Kariž
Polymers 2021, 13(19), 3209; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/polym13193209 - 22 Sep 2021
Cited by 20 | Viewed by 2498
Abstract
The use of wood particles in wood-plastic composites (WPC) is well known and similar use could occur in materials for fused deposition modeling (FDM) 3D printing. Wood particles could be one of the possible solutions in the search for natural-based materials to minimize [...] Read more.
The use of wood particles in wood-plastic composites (WPC) is well known and similar use could occur in materials for fused deposition modeling (FDM) 3D printing. Wood particles could be one of the possible solutions in the search for natural-based materials to minimize the use of synthetic-origin materials in additive manufacturing. Wood particles for 3D printing filaments can be made from wood waste and could serve as a cheap filler or as a value-added reinforcing component, depending on their properties and incorporation. The disadvantages of wood (dimensional changes due to water adsorption and desorption) could be used as functions when dimensional change is desirable, such as in shape-changing 4D printing materials. In this research, FDM printing materials made of polylactic acid (PLA), with different amounts of wood particles, were used to design moisture-induced shape-changing bilayer actuators, which could serve as a principle for active façade or ventilation valves. The initial research shows that the wood content in the WPC causes dimensional changes and thus shape changes of the designed actuators under changing climates. The shape change depends on the ratio of the materials in the two-layered actuator and the wood content in the wood-PLA composite used, and thus on sorption. The rate of the shape change behaves in the same way: the higher the wood content, the greater the change observed. The dynamics of the hygromorphism of bimaterial composites is greater with a small amount of added hygromechanically active material. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue 3D Printing in Wood Science)
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16 pages, 4919 KiB  
Article
Effect of Sanding and Plasma Treatment of 3D-Printed Parts on Bonding to Wood with PVAc Adhesive
by Mirko Kariž, Daša Krapež Tomec, Sebastian Dahle, Manja Kitek Kuzman, Milan Šernek and Jure Žigon
Polymers 2021, 13(8), 1211; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/polym13081211 - 09 Apr 2021
Cited by 16 | Viewed by 2560
Abstract
Additive manufacturing is becoming increasingly important for manufacturing end products, not just prototyping. However, the size of 3D-printed products is limited due to available printer sizes and other technological limitations. For example, making furniture from 3D-printed parts and wooden elements requires adequate adhesive [...] Read more.
Additive manufacturing is becoming increasingly important for manufacturing end products, not just prototyping. However, the size of 3D-printed products is limited due to available printer sizes and other technological limitations. For example, making furniture from 3D-printed parts and wooden elements requires adequate adhesive joints. Since materials for 3D printing usually do not bond very well with adhesives designed for woodworking, they require special surface preparation to improve adhesion. In this study, fused deposition modelling (FDM) 3D-printed parts made of polylactic acid (PLA), polylactic acid with wood flour additive (Wood-PLA), and acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) polymers were bonded to wood with polyvinyl acetate (PVAc) adhesive. The surfaces of the samples were bonded as either non-treated, sanded, plasma treated, or sanded and plasma treated to evaluate the effect of each surface preparation on the bondability of the 3D-printed surfaces. Different surface preparations affected the bond shear strength in different ways. The plasma treatment significantly reduced water contact angles on all tested printing materials and increased the bond tensile shear strength of the adhesive used. The increase in bond strength was highest for the surfaces that had been both sanded and plasma treated. The highest increase was found for the ABS material (untreated 0.05 MPa; sanded and plasma treated 4.83 MPa) followed by Wood-PLA (from 0.45 MPa to 3.96 MPa) and PLA (from 0.55 MPa to 3.72 MPa). Analysis with a scanning electron microscope showed the smooth surfaces of the 3D-printed parts, which became rougher with sanding with more protruded particles, but plasma treatment partially melted the surface structures on the thermoplastic polymer surfaces. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue 3D Printing in Wood Science)
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Review

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22 pages, 3339 KiB  
Review
Use of Wood in Additive Manufacturing: Review and Future Prospects
by Daša Krapež Tomec and Mirko Kariž
Polymers 2022, 14(6), 1174; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/polym14061174 - 15 Mar 2022
Cited by 27 | Viewed by 5557
Abstract
Polymers filled with natural-based fillers have shown growing demand/interest in recent years, including in additive manufacturing. Like most natural fillers in 3D printing, wood particles serve mainly as a filler that lowers the cost of the printing material due to their low price. [...] Read more.
Polymers filled with natural-based fillers have shown growing demand/interest in recent years, including in additive manufacturing. Like most natural fillers in 3D printing, wood particles serve mainly as a filler that lowers the cost of the printing material due to their low price. However, could wood be used as a main ingredient to affect/improve the properties of 3D-printed parts? Several advantages, such as its reinforcing ability, biodegradability, availability as waste material from other industries, ability to be used in different forms or only in partial components, recycling options or even the use of its undesirable hydromorph-induced dimensional instability for 4D printing, indicate the importance of exploring its use in 3D printing. A review of publications on 3D printing with wood biomass and technologies involving the use of wood particles and components was conducted to identify the possibilities of using wood in additive technologies and their potential. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue 3D Printing in Wood Science)
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Other

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21 pages, 7292 KiB  
Perspective
Colour Fastness to Various Agents and Dynamic Mechanical Characteristics of Biocomposite Filaments and 3D Printed Samples
by Deja Muck, Helena Gabrijelčič Tomc, Urška Stanković Elesini, Maruša Ropret and Mirjam Leskovšek
Polymers 2021, 13(21), 3738; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/polym13213738 - 29 Oct 2021
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1552
Abstract
The aim of the study was to analyse the colour fastness of 3D printed samples that could be used as decorative or household items. Such items are often fabricated with 3D printing. The colour of filaments affects not only the mechanical properties, but [...] Read more.
The aim of the study was to analyse the colour fastness of 3D printed samples that could be used as decorative or household items. Such items are often fabricated with 3D printing. The colour of filaments affects not only the mechanical properties, but also the appearance and user satisfaction. Samples of biocomposite filaments (PLA and PLA with added wood and hemp fibres) were used. First, the morphological properties of the filaments and 3D printed samples were analysed and then, the colour fastness against different agents was tested (water, oil, detergent, light and elevated temperature). Finally, the dynamic mechanical properties of the filaments and 3D printed samples were determined. The differences in the morphology of the filaments and 3D printed samples were identified with SEM analysis. The most obvious differences were observed in the samples with wood fibres. All printed samples showed good resistance to water and detergents, but poorer resistance to oil. The sample printed with filaments with added wood fibres showed the lowest colour fastness against light and elevated temperatures. Compared to the filaments, the glass transition of the printed samples increased, while their stiffness decreased significantly. The lowest elasticity was observed in the samples with wood fibres. The filaments to which hemp fibres were added showed the reinforcement effect. Without the influence on their elasticity, the printed samples can be safely used between 60 and 65 °C. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue 3D Printing in Wood Science)
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