Fused deposition modeling (FDM) is a promising additive manufacturing technique that can efficiently build complex structures and complicated designs. However, the printed prototypes using FDM exhibit anisotropic mechanical properties, where structural properties often fall short of targets. In this presentation, we will discuss recent work to develop new polymeric materials for improved FDM processing by examining the use of graphene as a filler for PLA, which enhances thermal conductivity. The addition of the graphene is correlated to the thermal evolution during printing, mechanical properties, and inherent voids of the fabricated samples. These results show that the graphene in the PLA filament improves thermal conductivity, which results in stronger inter-filament bonding as improved thermal transport translates to extended times at elevated temperatures. This results in more polymer diffusion between filaments that manifests as stronger interlayer interfaces, more robust and isotropic samples and fewer inter-filament voids. However, the improvement only occurs at lower graphene loadings (~ 0.5%) because higher loadings of graphene slow inter-filament diffusion – a well-known occurrence in polymer nanocomposites. Thus, the results indicate that creating filaments with improved thermal conductivity provides a method to tailor the thermal transport and profile during printing, effectively controlling heat transfer and offering a straightforward method to optimize structural mechanical properties and inter-filament interfaces of printed structures.

Designing polymeric materials for improved FDM 3D printing: Improving heat transfer with carbon nanoparticles

Macromolecular Chemistry: The Second Century

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ACS Spring 2020 National Meeting & Expo

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.