With the development of 3D printing technology, there is a need to produce printable materials with improved properties, e.g., sliding properties. In this paper, the authors present the possibilities of producing composites based on biodegradable PLA with the addition of graphite. The team created composites with the following graphite weight contents: 1%, 2.5%, 5%, 7.5%, and 10%. Neat material was also subjected to testing. Tribological, mechanical, and chemical properties of the mentioned materials were examined. Measurements were also made after keeping the samples in ageing and climatic ovens. Furthermore, SEM observations of samples before and after friction tests were carried out. It was demonstrated that increasing graphite content caused a significant decrease in wear (PLA + 10% graphite had a wear rate three times lower than for a neat material). The addition of graphite did not adversely affect most of the other properties, but it ought to be noted that mechanical properties changed significantly. After conditioning in a climatic oven PLA + 10% graphite has (in comparison with neat material) 11% lower fracture stress, 47% lower impact strength, and 21% higher Young’s modulus. It can be certainly stated that the addition of graphite to PLA is a step towards obtaining a material that is low-cost and suitable for printing sliding spare parts.
Nowadays, the replacement of a hip joint is a standard surgical procedure. However, researchers have continuingly been trying to upgrade endoprostheses and make them more similar to natural joints. The use of 3D printing could be helpful in such cases, since 3D-printed elements could mimic the natural lubrication mechanism of the meniscus. In this paper, we propose a method to deposit plastics directly on titanium alloy using 3D printing (FDM). This procedure allows one to obtain endoprostheses that are more similar to natural joints, easier to manufacture and have fewer components. During the research, biocompatible polymers suitable for 3D FDM printing were used, namely polylactide (PLA) and polyamide (PA). The research included tensile and shear tests of metal–polymer bonds, friction coefficient measurements and microscopic observations. The friction coefficient measurements revealed that only PA was promising for endoprostheses (the friction coefficient for PLA was too high). The strength tests and microscopic observations showed that PLA and PA deposition by 3D FDM printing directly on Ti6Al4V titanium alloy is possible; however, the achieved bonding strength and repeatability of the process were unsatisfactory. Nevertheless, the benefits arising from application of this method mean that it is worthwhile to continue working on this issue.
The effect of tensile deformation on polymer structures and their mechanical properties is described in various papers. However, the majority of articles are focused on high deformation (a few hundred percentiles) at increased temperature. It causes changes in orientation and the crystallinity ratio. The authors of this paper asses the influence of strain (max. 50%) on hardness and the coefficient of friction (polymer–steel A1 couple) for selected polymers. The deformation was conducted at room temperature and maintained during tests. There was a significant reduction (up to 50%) of hardness after deformation, in the case of all examined polymers. In the case of PE-HD, the coefficient of kinetic friction almost doubled its value (89% increase). The reduction of the coefficient of static friction for sliding pairs that include PTFE and PA6 was about 26% (in comparison with non-deformed polymer). For all investigated polymers, hardness increased over time (up to 40% after 24 hours). Coefficients of static and kinetic friction decreased in 24 hours (up to 29% coefficient of static friction and 19% coefficient of kinetic friction). The research shows that a small deformation causes changes in polymer properties. Moreover, these changes appear at room temperature directly after deformation.
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