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Polymers
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Polymers for 3D Printing: Current Advances and Future Perspectives
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Polymers for 3D Printing: Current Advances and Future Perspectives

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (28 February 2022) | Viewed by 15452

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Jia Min Lee

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Nanyang, Singapore City, Singapore
Interests: 3D printing; microfluidics; tissue engineering; bio-printing
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

From polymers with transparent and self-healing properties to polymer matrix composites for improved performance, the use of polymers in 3D printing is prevalent in aerospace, automobile, biomedical, and electronics industries. As an additive fabrication process, 3D printing produces parts with higher degree of design freedom, while allowing heterogenous materials to be fabricated within a single build assembly. 3D printed polymer parts have shown to provide geometrically accurate models for form fitting applications such as product design and surgical planning and guides. However, there are increasing interests to introduce functionality into 3D printed parts.

In this Special Issue, the topic themes would be separated into three aspects material, design, and process. The issue will include original research papers and reviews on the latest advances of polymers in 3D printing that investigates on material formulation for functional 3D printing, innovation in process-induced functionalities, and integrating different fabrication technologies for enhanced performance. Also, articles on simulation and prediction models on 3D printed polymers are welcomed.

Dr. Jia Min Lee
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.

Keywords

  • 3D printing
  • additive manufacturing
  • functional materials
  • polymer matrix composites
  • simulation models

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

16 pages, 2882 KiB  
Article
Effect of Process Parameters on Energy Consumption, Physical, and Mechanical Properties of Fused Deposition Modeling
by Emmanuel U. Enemuoh, Stefan Duginski, Connor Feyen and Venkata G. Menta
Polymers 2021, 13(15), 2406; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/polym13152406 - 22 Jul 2021
Cited by 23 | Viewed by 2373
Abstract
The application of the fused deposition modeling (FDM) additive manufacturing process has increased in the production of functional parts across all industries. FDM is also being introduced for industrial tooling and fixture applications due to its capabilities in building free-form and complex shapes [...] Read more.
The application of the fused deposition modeling (FDM) additive manufacturing process has increased in the production of functional parts across all industries. FDM is also being introduced for industrial tooling and fixture applications due to its capabilities in building free-form and complex shapes that are otherwise challenging to manufacture by conventional methods. However, there is not yet a comprehensive understanding of how the FDM process parameters impact the mechanical behavior of engineered products, energy consumption, and other physical properties for different material stocks. Acquiring this information is quite a complex task, given the large variety of possible combinations of materials–additive manufacturing machines–slicing software process parameters. In this study, the knowledge gap is filled by using the Taguchi L27 orthogonal array design of experiments to evaluate the impact of five notable FDM process parameters: infill density, infill pattern, layer thickness, print speed, and shell thickness on energy consumption, production time, part weight, dimensional accuracy, hardness, and tensile strength. Signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio analysis and analysis of variance (ANOVA) were performed on the experimental data to quantify the parameters’ main effects on the responses and establish an optimal combination for the FDM process. The novelty of this work is the simultaneous evaluation of the effects of the FDM process parameters on the quality performances because most studies have considered one or two of the performances alone. The study opens an opportunity for multiobjective function optimization of the FDM process that can be used to effectively minimize resource consumption and production time while maximizing the mechanical and physical characteristics to fit the design requirements of FDM-manufactured products. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymers for 3D Printing: Current Advances and Future Perspectives)
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15 pages, 3127 KiB  
Article
3D Printing of High Viscosity Reinforced Silicone Elastomers
by Nicholas Rodriguez, Samantha Ruelas, Jean-Baptiste Forien, Nikola Dudukovic, Josh DeOtte, Jennifer Rodriguez, Bryan Moran, James P. Lewicki, Eric B. Duoss and James S. Oakdale
Polymers 2021, 13(14), 2239; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/polym13142239 - 08 Jul 2021
Cited by 24 | Viewed by 6049
Abstract
Recent advances in additive manufacturing, specifically direct ink writing (DIW) and ink-jetting, have enabled the production of elastomeric silicone parts with deterministic control over the structure, shape, and mechanical properties. These new technologies offer rapid prototyping advantages and find applications in various fields, [...] Read more.
Recent advances in additive manufacturing, specifically direct ink writing (DIW) and ink-jetting, have enabled the production of elastomeric silicone parts with deterministic control over the structure, shape, and mechanical properties. These new technologies offer rapid prototyping advantages and find applications in various fields, including biomedical devices, prosthetics, metamaterials, and soft robotics. Stereolithography (SLA) is a complementary approach with the ability to print with finer features and potentially higher throughput. However, all high-performance silicone elastomers are composites of polysiloxane networks reinforced with particulate filler, and consequently, silicone resins tend to have high viscosities (gel- or paste-like), which complicates or completely inhibits the layer-by-layer recoating process central to most SLA technologies. Herein, the design and build of a digital light projection SLA printer suitable for handling high-viscosity resins is demonstrated. Further, a series of UV-curable silicone resins with thiol-ene crosslinking and reinforced by a combination of fumed silica and MQ resins are also described. The resulting silicone elastomers are shown to have tunable mechanical properties, with 100–350% elongation and ultimate tensile strength from 1 to 2.5 MPa. Three-dimensional printed features of 0.4 mm were achieved, and complexity is demonstrated by octet-truss lattices that display negative stiffness. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymers for 3D Printing: Current Advances and Future Perspectives)
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20 pages, 1655 KiB  
Article
Supercritical Impregnation of PLA Filaments with Mango Leaf Extract to Manufacture Functionalized Biomedical Devices by 3D Printing
by José María Rosales, Cristina Cejudo, Lidia Verano, Lourdes Casas, Casimiro Mantell and Enrique José Martínez de la Ossa
Polymers 2021, 13(13), 2125; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/polym13132125 - 28 Jun 2021
Cited by 17 | Viewed by 2794
Abstract
Polylactic Acid (PLA) filaments impregnated with ethanolic mango leaves extract (MLE) with pharmacological properties were obtained by supercritical impregnation. The effects of pressure, temperature and amount of extract on the response variables, i.e., swelling, extract loading and bioactivity of the PLA filaments, were [...] Read more.
Polylactic Acid (PLA) filaments impregnated with ethanolic mango leaves extract (MLE) with pharmacological properties were obtained by supercritical impregnation. The effects of pressure, temperature and amount of extract on the response variables, i.e., swelling, extract loading and bioactivity of the PLA filaments, were determined. The analysis of the filaments biocapacities revealed that impregnated PLA filaments showed 11.07% antidenaturant capacity and 88.13% antioxidant activity, which after a 9-day incubation shifted to 30.10% and 9.90%, respectively. Subsequently, the same tests were conducted on printed samples. Before their incubation, the printed samples showed 79.09% antioxidant activity and no antidenaturant capacity was detected. However, after their incubation, the antioxidant activity went down to only 2.50%, while the antidenaturant capacity raised up to 23.50%. The persistence of the bioactive properties after printing opens the possibility of using the functionalized PLA filaments as the feed for a three-dimensional (3D) printer. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymers for 3D Printing: Current Advances and Future Perspectives)
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19 pages, 4052 KiB  
Article
Optimization of Process Parameters for Fabricating Polylactic Acid Filaments Using Design of Experiments Approach
by Chil-Chyuan Kuo, Jia-You Chen and Yuan-Hao Chang
Polymers 2021, 13(8), 1222; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/polym13081222 - 09 Apr 2021
Cited by 22 | Viewed by 3317
Abstract
The amount of wasted polylactic acid (PLA) is increasing because 3D printing services are an increasingly popular offering in many fields. The PLA is widely employed in the fused deposition modeling (FDM) since it is an environmentally friendly polymer. However, failed prototypes or [...] Read more.
The amount of wasted polylactic acid (PLA) is increasing because 3D printing services are an increasingly popular offering in many fields. The PLA is widely employed in the fused deposition modeling (FDM) since it is an environmentally friendly polymer. However, failed prototypes or physical models can generate substantial waste. In this study, the feasibility of recycling PLA waste plastic and re-extruded it into new PLA filaments was investigated. An automatic PLA filament extruder was first developed for fabricating new PLA filaments. This paper also discusses the process, challenges, and benefits of recycling PLA waste plastic in an effort to fabricate new PLA filaments more sustainable. It was found that it was possible to fabricate PLA filament using recycled PLA waste plastic. The production cost is only 60% of the commercially available PLA filament. The tensile strength of the developed PLA filament is approximately 1.1 times that of the commercially available PLA filament. The design of experiments approach was employed to investigate the optimal process parameters for fabricating PLA filaments. The most important control factor affecting the diameter of PLA filament is the barrel temperature, followed by recycled material addition ratio, extrusion speed, and cooling distance. The optimal process parameters for fabricating PLA filament with a diameter of 1.7 mm include the barrel temperature of 184 °C, extrusion speed of 490 mm/min, cooling distance of 57.5 mm, and recycled material addition ratio of 40%. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymers for 3D Printing: Current Advances and Future Perspectives)
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