Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM) of Thermoplastic-Based Filaments: Process and Rheological Properties—An Overview

Abstract

The fused deposition modeling (FDM) process, an extrusion-based 3D printing technology, enables the manufacture of complex geometrical elements. This technology employs diverse materials, including thermoplastic polymers and composites as well as recycled resins to encourage sustainable growth. FDM is used in a variety of industrial fields, including automotive, biomedical, and textiles, as a rapid prototyping method to reduce costs and shorten production time, or to develop items with detailed designs and high precision. The main phases of this technology include the feeding of solid filament into a molten chamber, capillary flow of a non-Newtonian fluid through a nozzle, layer deposition on the support base, and layer-to-layer adhesion. The viscoelastic properties of processed materials are essential in each of the FDM steps: (i) predicting the printability of the melted material during FDM extrusion and ensuring a continuous flow across the nozzle; (ii) controlling the deposition process of the molten filament on the print bed and avoiding fast material leakage and loss of precision in the molded part; and (iii) ensuring layer adhesion in the subsequent consolidation phase. Regarding this framework, this work aimed to collect knowledge on FDM extrusion and on different types of rheological properties in order to forecast the performance of thermoplastics.

Adhesion Testing Device for 3D Printed Objects on Diverse Printing Bed Materials: Design and Evaluation

“…The rotational motion of the motor is transmitted via gears (3) onto trapezoidal threaded rods (4), whose rotational movement induces the displacement of guide nuts and consequently propels the EMS 20-5kN sensor (6) along the Z-axis. This motion facilitates the detachment of the test model perpendicular to the pressure plate [18]. The entire process is methodically recorded in time and visualized through EMS Center v1.0 software, which subsequently generates data from individual measurements showcased in Tables 3 and 4.…”

3D printing and bioprinting in the battle against diabetes and its chronic complications

“…Figure 1 presents the schematic of the working principle of an extrusion-based 3D bioprinter. (b) Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) : FDM, also referred to as “Fused Filament Fabrication” is a process in which the solid/thermoplastic filaments are extruded in a layer-by-layer manner through a nozzle after melting to form a 3D-object ( Acierno and Patti, 2023 ). The main requisite of the printing material for its use in FDM 3D printing is that the molten printing material should be capable of solidifying immediately once the printing is over.…”