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Hybrid 3D printing of multifunctional polylactic acid/carbon black nanocomposites made with material extrusion and post-processed with CO2 laser cutting

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Abstract

Material extrusion (MEX), frequently known as fused filament fabrication (FFF), is a material extrusion 3D printing process for fabricating cost-effectively functional polymeric parts. Even if the MEX process fabricates fully dense or lightweight specimens with a relatively complex geometry in a reduced time and cost, it presents some drawbacks in shape accuracy, surface roughness, and anisotropic mechanical response. Herewith, the interaction between material design, 3D printing, and laser post-processing is investigated for efficient printable nanocomposite materials. Polylactic acid (PLA)/carbon black (CB) nanocomposites were prepared with a thermomechanical process and characterized for their mechanical and electrical properties. Then, they were processed with a low-cost CO2 laser, to assess their behavior in the process. Critical geometrical characteristics were measured, and results were analyzed with statistical modeling, to optimize the process and evaluate the effect of the laser cutting parameters on the quality of the samples. This paper points out new data on low-cost CO2 laser cutting of MEX thin plates fabricated using PLA/CB nanocomposite filament and an affordable material extrusion MEX 3D printing process. The data produced are helpful for the improvement of the shape accuracy and surface roughness of parts and components used in nanocomposite-based innovative assemblies and systems.

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Abbreviations

3DP:

3D printing

ABS:

Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene

AM:

Additive manufacturing

ANN:

Artificial neural networks

ANOVA:

Analysis of variances

CA:

Cutting angle (degrees)

CB:

Carbon black

CCW:

Counterclockwise

CS:

Cutting speed (mm/s)

CW:

Clockwise

DMA:

Dynamic mechanical analysis

DOE:

Design of experiment

E:

Tensile modulus of elasticity (MPa)

FDM :

Fused deposition modeling

FFF:

Fused filament fabrication

FSW:

Friction stir welding

HAM:

Hybrid additive manufacturing

HAZ:

Heat affected zone

Kd:

Kerf down width (mm)

Km:

Kerf median width (mm)

Ku:

Kerf upper width (mm)

LP:

Laser power (W)

MEP:

Main effect plot

MEX:

Material extrusion

MRR:

Material removal rate

NN:

Neural network

NT:

Nozzle temperature (°C)

PET-G:

Polyethylene terephthalate glycol

PLA:

Polylactic acid

PMMA:

Polymethyl methacrylate

PP:

Polypropylene

Ra:

Average surface roughness: average profile height deviations from the mean line (μm)

Rt:

Total height of the roughness profile (μm)

SEM:

Scanning electron microscopy

SoD:

Stand-off distance (mm)

TEM mode:

Transverse electromagnetic mode

Tg:

Glass transition temperature (°C)

TGA:

Thermogravimetric analysis

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Aleka Manousaki from the Institute of Electronic Structure and Laser of the Foundation for Research and Technology, Hellas (IESL-FORTH), for taking the SEM images presented in this work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Technology, University of Thessaly, 43100, Karditsa, Greece

    John D. Kechagias & Konstantinos Ninikas

  2. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Hellenic Mediterranean University, 71410, Heraklion, Greece

    Nectarios Vidakis & Markos Petousis

  3. Department of Mechanical Engineering Educators, School of Pedagogical and Technological Education (ASPETE), 151 22, Amarousion, Greece

    Nikolaos M. Vaxevanidis

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Contributions

John D. Kechagias: conceptualization, methodology, resources, supervision, project administration, process optimization; Nectarios Vidakis: methodology, visualization, resources; Konstantinos Ninikas: software, formal analysis, investigation, data curation; Markos Petousis: methodology, formal analysis; Nikolaos Vaxevanidis: investigation, data curation, statistical modeling; the manuscript was written through contributions of all authors. All authors have approved the final version of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to John D. Kechagias.

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Kechagias, J.D., Vidakis, N., Ninikas, K. et al. Hybrid 3D printing of multifunctional polylactic acid/carbon black nanocomposites made with material extrusion and post-processed with CO2 laser cutting. Int J Adv Manuf Technol 124, 1843–1861 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-022-10604-6

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