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Polymers for Additive Manufacturing

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (25 June 2023) | Viewed by 23628

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Dr. Sofiane Guessasma

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Research unit Biopolymers, French Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA), 44300 Nantes, France
Interests: additive manufacturing; mechanical performance of polymers; mechanical modelling; image analysis; topology optimization
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Additive manufacturing is recognized as one of the key technologies of our modern society. The growing interest in such technology from both academic and industrial viewpoints has led to numerous contributions to various topics ranging from engineering processes to numerical modelling. It is the aim of this Special Issue on additive manufacturing to provide a platform of exchange for scientists and engineers interested in sharing their opinion, research results and experience of different aspects related to additive manufacturing including but not limited to additive manufacturing technologies, material selection in additive manufacturing, additive manufacturing applications, new functionalities in additive manufacturing, and characterization and modelling in additive manufacturing. It is also the aim of this Special Issue to be a platform to hold an intense debate on the most recent innovations, challenges, and new technological solutions in the field.

Dr. Sofiane Guessasma
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.

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Keywords

additive manufacturing technologies
material selection in additive manufacturing
additive manufacturing applications
new functionalities in additive manufacturing
characterization and modelling in additive manufacturing

Published Papers (10 papers)

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Research

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16 pages, 5143 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Electrical Resistivity of 3D-Printed Polymer Elements

by Stanislav Stankevich, Jevgenijs Sevcenko, Olga Bulderberga, Aleksandrs Dutovs, Donat Erts, Maksims Piskunovs, Valerijs Ivanovs, Victor Ivanov and Andrey Aniskevich

Polymers 2023, 15(14), 2988; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/polym15142988 - 08 Jul 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1692

Abstract

During this study, the resistivity of electrically conductive structures 3D-printed via fused filament fabrication (FFF) was investigated. Electrical resistivity characterisation was performed on various structural levels of the whole 3D-printed body, starting from the single traxel (3D-printed single track element), continuing with monolayer and multilayer formation, finalising with hybrid structures of a basic nonconductive polymer and an electrically conductive one. Two commercial conductive materials were studied: Proto-Pasta and Koltron G1. It was determined that the geometry and resistivity of a single traxel influenced the resistivity of all subsequent structural elements of the printed body and affected its electrical anisotropy. In addition, the results showed that thermal postprocessing (annealing) affected the resistivity of a standalone extruded fibre (extruded filament through a printer nozzle in freefall) and traxel. The effect of Joule heating and piezoresistive properties of hybrid structures with imprinted conductive elements made from Koltron G1 were investigated. Results revealed good thermal stability within 70 °C and considerable piezoresistive response with a gauge factor of 15–25 at both low 0.1% and medium 1.5% elongations, indicating the potential of such structures for use as a heat element and strain gauge sensor in applications involving stiff materials and low elongations. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymers for Additive Manufacturing)

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14 pages, 4251 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Thermal and Electrical Properties of Additively Manufactured Polymer–Boron Nitride Composite

by Julia V. Bondareva, Daniil A. Chernodoubov, Oleg N. Dubinin, Andrey A. Tikhonov, Alexey P. Simonov, Nikolay V. Suetin, Mikhail A. Tarkhov, Zakhar I. Popov, Dmitry G. Kvashnin, Stanislav A. Evlashin and Alexander A. Safonov

Polymers 2023, 15(5), 1214; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/polym15051214 - 28 Feb 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2969

Abstract

The efficiency of electronic microchip-based devices increases with advancements in technology, while their size decreases. This miniaturization leads to significant overheating of various electronic components, such as power transistors, processors, and power diodes, leading to a reduction in their lifespan and reliability. To address this issue, researchers are exploring the use of materials that offer efficient heat dissipation. One promising material is a polymer–boron nitride composite. This paper focuses on 3D printing using digital light processing of a model of a composite radiator with different boron nitride fillings. The measured absolute values of the thermal conductivity of such a composite in the temperature range of 3–300 K strongly depend on the concentration of boron nitride. Filling the photopolymer with boron nitride leads to a change in the behavior of the volt–current curves, which may be associated with the occurrence of percolation currents during the deposition of boron nitride. The ab initio calculations show the behavior and spatial orientation of BN flakes under the influence of an external electric field at the atomic level. These results demonstrate the potential use of photopolymer-based composite materials filled with boron nitride, which are manufactured using additive techniques, in modern electronics. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymers for Additive Manufacturing)

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25 pages, 6874 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Energy Consumption vs. Tensile Strength of Poly[methyl methacrylate] in Material Extrusion 3D Printing: The Impact of Six Control Settings

by Nectarios Vidakis, Markos Petousis, Nikolaos Mountakis, Amalia Moutsopoulou and Emmanuel Karapidakis

Polymers 2023, 15(4), 845; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/polym15040845 - 08 Feb 2023

Cited by 13 | Viewed by 1552

Abstract

The energy efficiency of material extrusion additive manufacturing has a significant impact on the economics and environmental footprint of the process. Control parameters that ensure 3D-printed functional products of premium quality and mechanical strength are an established market-driven requirement. To accomplish multiple objectives is challenging, especially for multi-purpose industrial polymers, such as the Poly[methyl methacrylate]. The current paper explores the contribution of six generic control factors (infill density, raster deposition angle, nozzle temperature, print speed, layer thickness, and bed temperature) to the energy performance of Poly[methyl methacrylate] over its mechanical performance. A five-level L25 Taguchi orthogonal array was composed, with five replicas, involving 135 experiments. The 3D printing time and the electrical consumption were documented with the stopwatch approach. The tensile strength, modulus, and toughness were experimentally obtained. The raster deposition angle and the printing speed were the first and second most influential control parameters on tensile strength. Layer thickness and printing speed were the corresponding ones for the energy consumption. Quadratic regression model equations for each response metric over the six control parameters were compiled and validated. Thus, the best compromise between energy efficiency and mechanical strength is achievable, and a tool creates significant value for engineering applications. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymers for Additive Manufacturing)

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20 pages, 6990 KiB

Open AccessArticle

On the Mechanical Performance of Polylactic Material Reinforced by Ceramic in Fused Filament Fabrication

by Lotfi Hedjazi, Sofiane Guessasma, Sofiane Belhabib and Nicolas Stephant

Polymers 2022, 14(14), 2924; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/polym14142924 - 19 Jul 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1351

Abstract

This study addresses the potential of using ceramics-based filaments as a feedstock material in an additive manufacturing process. Tensile specimens of PLA-ceramic (PLC) material are manufactured using a fused deposition modelling process, applying various printing parameters including printing angle and part orientation. Mechanical testing is performed on both the filaments and 3D-printed parts, and the related engineering quantities are derived. The experimental results show that PLC wire properties are substantially restored for the horizontal and lateral printing orientations, with only a 9% reduction in stiffness. In addition, a typical elastic-plastic response is achieved with these orientations, allowing the PLC to achieve excellent stiffness and elongation-at-break performance. The mechanical performance of the PLC is explained by the large proportion of continuous filaments along the loading direction. In addition, the printing angle is found to be a secondary factor allowing for layups at −45°/+45° and 0°/90°, resulting in the best tensile performance. The downside of using PLC is the lack of mechanical transfer, which is associated with weak interfacial behaviour and the inability to achieve high tensile strength. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymers for Additive Manufacturing)

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16 pages, 5891 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effect of Shear Angle and Printing Orientation on Shear Constitutive Response of Additively Manufactured Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene

by Joshua Letizia, Vijaya Chalivendra and Dapeng Li

Polymers 2022, 14(12), 2484; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/polym14122484 - 18 Jun 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1635 | Correction

Abstract

An experimental investigation was performed to understand the quasi-static shear response of additively manufactured (AM) acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) via fusion deposition modeling (FDM). A modified flat hat-shaped (FHS) specimen configuration was used for shear testing. The main aim of this study was to investigate the effect of four different shear angles (0°, 5.44°, 13.39°, and 20.83°) and three printing orientations (vertical build, 0°/90°, and 45°/−45°) on the shear constitutive response and shear performance of FDM-printed ABS. Scanning electron microscopy images of the failure surface were used to explain the shear response of the material. The flow shear stress of the shear stress-strain response for vertically printed specimens demonstrated a monotonic increase up to a peak shear stress and then decrease at the end of the shear zone, while for 0°/90° specimens, an increasing trend until the peak value at the end of the shear zone was observed. With increasing shear angles, all specimens printed with three printing orientations exhibited increasing shear zone size and shear strength, and the 0°/90° specimens exhibited the highest shear strength for all four shear angles. However, the specimens of the 45°/−45° orientation demonstrated the highest increase in shear strength by about 60% and in the shear strain at the end of shear zone by about 175% as the shear angle was increased from 0° to 20.83°. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymers for Additive Manufacturing)

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26 pages, 76761 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Interfacial Behaviour in Polymer Composites Processed Using Droplet-Based Additive Manufacturing

by Sofiane Guessasma, Khaoula Abouzaid, Sofiane Belhabib, David Bassir and Hedi Nouri

Polymers 2022, 14(5), 1013; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/polym14051013 - 03 Mar 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2036

Abstract

In this study, we show the extent of interfacial behaviour in the mechanical performance of thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer (TPU)/acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) composite material manufactured using droplet-based additive manufacturing. Both the interface orientation and the interface strength are varied during the processing. Prior to tensile experiments, X-ray micro-tomography imaging is undertaken to obtain the microstructural arrangement of polymer droplets in the part. Tensile loading is performed simultaneously with digital image acquisition to reveal the extent of strain localization using a digital image correlation approach. The experiments are performed up to the failure of the specimens. Finite element computation based on 3D imaging of the ABS/TPU composite is considered to predict the role of the interface as well as the defect influence on the tensile performance. The experimental results show a major connectivity of the process-generated porosity and a distinct morphology of the ABS/TPU interface. The predictions demonstrate that, despite the limited amount of porosity, their connectivity plays a significant role in triggering damage initiation and growth up to the failure of the composite material. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymers for Additive Manufacturing)

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10 pages, 6971 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Powder Surface Roughness as Proxy for Bed Density in Powder Bed Fusion of Polymers

by Francesco Sillani, Ramis Schiegg, Manfred Schmid, Eric MacDonald and Konrad Wegener

Polymers 2022, 14(1), 81; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/polym14010081 - 26 Dec 2021

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2992

Abstract

Powder bed fusion of polymers is becoming increasingly adopted by a variety of industries to tailor the strength, weight and functionality of end-use products. To meet the high standards of the modern manufacturing industry, parts built with powder bed fusion require consistent properties and to be free of defects, which is intrinsically connected to the quality of the powder bed prior to melting. The hypothesis of this work is that the roughness of the top surface of an unmelted powder bed can serve as a proxy for the powder bed density, which is known to correlate with final part density. In this study, a laser line scan profilometer is integrated onto the recoater arm of a custom powder test bench, which is able to automatically create layers of powder. A diverse group of polymers was investigated including polyamide 12 (PA12), polyamide 11 (PA11), polypropylene (PP), and a thermoplastic elastomer (TPU) under different recoating speed in order to increase the variance of the dataset. Data analytics were employed to compare roughness to measured powder bed density and a statically significant correlation was established between them. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymers for Additive Manufacturing)

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11 pages, 3348 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Contour Fitting of Fused Filaments Cross-Section Images by Lemniscates of Booth: Application to Viscous Sintering Kinetics Modeling

by Laurent Chaunier, Anne-Laure Réguerre and Eric Leroy

Polymers 2021, 13(22), 3965; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/polym13223965 - 16 Nov 2021

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1617

Abstract

A method for image analysis was implemented to determine the edge pixels of two biopolymer-based thermoplastic filaments during their hot melt isothermal sintering at 120 °C. Successive inverted ellipses are adjusted to the contour of the sintered filaments and lead to the identification of the parameters of the corresponding lemniscates of Booth. The different steps of the morphological image analysis are detailed, from 8-bit coded acquired images (1 frame/s), to the final fitting of the optimized mathematical functions describing the evolution of the filaments envelope. The complete sequence is composed of an initial pure viscous sintering step during the first minute, followed by viscoelastic swelling combined with melt spreading for a longer time, and then the stabilization of the sintered filaments shape for over 2 min at high temperatures. Using a master curve obtained from Hopper’s abacus, the characteristic viscous sintering time is assessed at t_vs = 78 s, confirming the one previously found based on the measurement of the bonding neck length alone. Then, the full description of the evolution of the thermoplastic filaments envelope is assessable by image analysis during sintering trials as a result of its digital modeling as successive lemniscates of Booth, reflecting geometry changes in the molten state. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymers for Additive Manufacturing)

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16 pages, 69133 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

An Investigation to Study the Effect of Process Parameters on the Strength and Fatigue Behavior of 3D-Printed PLA-Graphene

by Anouar EL MAGRI, Saeedeh VANAEI, Mohammadali SHIRINBAYAN, Sébastien Vaudreuil and Abbas TCHARKHTCHI

Polymers 2021, 13(19), 3218; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/polym13193218 - 23 Sep 2021

Cited by 27 | Viewed by 3749

Abstract

3D printing, an additive manufacturing process, draws particular attention due to its ability to produce components directly from a 3D model; however, the mechanical properties of the produced pieces are limited. In this paper, we present, from the experimental aspect, the fatigue behavior and damage analysis of polylactic acid (PLA)-Graphene manufactured using 3D printing. The main purpose of this paper is to analyze the combined effect of process parameters, loading amplitude, and frequency on fatigue behavior of the 3D-printed PLA-Graphene specimens. Firstly, a specific case study (single printed filament) was analyzed and compared with spool material for understanding the nature of 3D printing of the material. Specific experiments of quasi-static tensile tests are performed. A strong variation of fatigue strength as a function of the loading amplitude, frequency, and process parameters is also presented. The obtained experimental results highlight that fatigue lifetime clearly depends on the process parameters as well as the loading amplitude and frequency. Moreover, when the frequency is 80 Hz, the coupling effect of thermal and mechanical fatigue causes self-heating, which decreases the fatigue lifetime. This paper comprises useful data regarding the mechanical behavior and fatigue lifetime of 3D-printed PLA-Graphene specimens. In fact, it evaluates the effect of process parameters based on the nature of this process, which is classified as a thermally-driven process. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymers for Additive Manufacturing)

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Review

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17 pages, 2141 KiB

Open AccessReview

Fused Deposition Modelling of Polymeric Auxetic Structures: A Review

by Davide Mocerino, Maria Rosaria Ricciardi, Vincenza Antonucci and Ilaria Papa

Polymers 2023, 15(4), 1008; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/polym15041008 - 17 Feb 2023

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2829

Abstract

Additive Manufacturing (AM) techniques have recently attracted the attention of scientists for the development of prototypes with complex or particular geometry in a fast and cheap way. Among the different AM processes, the Fused Deposition Modelling process (FDM) offers several advantages in terms of costs, implementation features and design freedom. Recently, it has been adopted to realise auxetic structures, which are characterised by negative Poisson ratio, enhanced mechanical properties, and a higher compression resistance than conventional structures. This review outlines the use of AM processes, in particular FDM, to design and obtain auxetic structures, with the final aim to exploit their applications in different fields. The first part of this work presents a brief classification of auxetic structures and materials. Subsequently, a summary of additive manufacturing processes is presented, focusing on the use of FDM and its limitations. Finally, the studies on the use of additive manufacturing to produce auxetic structures are shown, evidencing the potential of the concurrent combination of a fast prototyping technique such as FDM and the characteristics of polymer- and/or composite-based auxetic structures. Indeed, this new technological field opens the possibility of realising novel structures with integrated smart behaviour, multifunctional properties, compression resistance, and a tailored microstructure and shape. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymers for Additive Manufacturing)

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