Investigation of Low-Cost FDM-Printed Polymers for Elevated-Temperature Applications

Abstract

While fused deposition modeling (FDM) and other relatively inexpensive 3D printing methods are nowadays used in many applications, the possible areas of using FDM-printed objects are still limited due to mechanical and thermal constraints. Applications for space, e.g., for microsatellites, are restricted by the usually insufficient heat resistance of the typical FDM printing materials. Printing high-temperature polymers, on the other hand, necessitates special FDM printers, which are not always available. Here, we show investigations of common polymers, processible on low-cost FDM printers, under elevated temperatures of up to 160 °C for single treatments. The polymers with the highest dimensional stability and mechanical properties after different temperature treatments were periodically heat-treated between -40 °C and +80 °C in cycles of 90 min, similar to the temperature cycles a microsatellite in the low Earth orbit (LEO) experiences. While none of the materials under investigation fully maintains its dimensions and mechanical properties, filled poly(lactic acid) (PLA) filaments were found most suitable for applications under these thermal conditions.

On Comparison of Heat Treated and Non-Heat-Treated LOM Manufactured Sample for Poly(lactic)acid: Mechanical and Morphological View Point

“…The surface characteristics of the samples were improved, such as surface finish. Storck et al [ 12 ] tested different materials of FDM printing for elevated temperature applications such as space and satellite purposes. The study had given the exposure of −40 °C to +80 °C to 3D-printed samples by selecting cycles of 90 min.…”

Examination of Polymer Blends by AFM Phase Images

“…The surface of the PLA "temp" here looks smoother (Figure 7b), but averaging over several SEM images, both materials have smoother and more fractioned positions. Interestingly, an inspection of the fracture surface (Figure 7c) of PLA "temp" reveals holes of diameters of several micrometers in which original microcapsules are located [29]. This is also visible for fracture surfaces of PLA "UV" [30].…”

Recent Developments in Additive Manufacturing of Conductive Polymer Composites

“…[27] Although these photopolymerization methods can usually create much finer structures than FDM, especially in case of 2TPP, they nevertheless may have problems with dimensional accuracy [28,29] and aging. [30,31] Powder-bed methods can work with polymers, metals, or even polymer/metal hybrid objects. [32] Besides the well-known selective laser sintering (SLS), other techniques such as high-speed sintering (HSS) or multijet fusion (MJF) can be used to prepare polymer objects.…”

“…[ 27 ] Although these photopolymerization methods can usually create much finer structures than FDM, especially in case of 2TPP, they nevertheless may have problems with dimensional accuracy [ 28,29 ] and aging. [ 30,31 ]…”