Thermoforming characteristics of PLA/TPU multi-material specimens fabricated with fused deposition modelling under different temperatures
Multi-material products are required in fused deposition modelling (FDM) to meet a desired specification such as a rigid structure with soft material for impact protection. This paper focuses on the thermoformability and shape recovery characteristics of three-dimensional (3D)- printed multi-materia...
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| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI
2022
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/42299/2/FULL%20TEXT.pdf https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/42299/ https://doi.org/10.3390/polym14204304 |
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| Summary: | Multi-material products are required in fused deposition modelling (FDM) to meet a desired specification such as a rigid structure with soft material for impact protection. This paper focuses on the thermoformability and shape recovery characteristics of three-dimensional (3D)- printed multi-material specimens under different thermoforming temperatures. The multi-material specimens consist of polylactic acid (PLA) and thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU). The PLA/TPU specimens were prepared by depositing the TPU component on top of the PLA component using a fused deposition modelling (FDM) machine. Simple thermoforming tests were proposed, where the specimens were bent under load and molded into a circular shape at different thermoforming temperatures. The bent specimens were then reheated at 60 ◦C to evaluate their shape memory ability. The test results were quantified into apparent bending modulus and shape recovery percentage. The PLA/TPU specimens showed a better apparent bending modulus of 143 MPa than a PLA specimen at a temperature between 60 ◦C to 90 ◦C. However, only the PLA/TPU specimens being thermoformed into a circular shape at 100 ◦C or greater showed good shape retention accuracy and interfacial surface bonding. The PLA/TPU specimens that were thermoformed at 60 ◦C to 90 ◦C showed reasonable shape memory of about 60% recovery when reheated. Finally, suitable thermoforming temperatures for thermoforming PLA/TPU specimens were suggested based on design needs. |
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