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Improving fracture strength of fused filament fabrication parts via thermal annealing in a printed support shell

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Abstract

Polymeric structures fabricated using fused filament fabrication (FFF) have limited use in engineering applications as a result of their poor inter-laminar bonding. In this study, we utilize a dual-material print head to encase a low glass transition temperature (Tg) polymer (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene) within a high-Tg shell (polycarbonate). The resulting structure, if annealed at a temperature between the core and shell polymer Tg values, creates a tough interior with high inter-laminar strength while retaining the as-printed three-dimensional geometry of the part. Fracture toughness of annealed, shelled parts was evaluated using single edge notch bend (SENB) fracture specimens and reached values more than 1800% higher than unannealed specimens. Importantly, the annealed specimens exhibited consistent ductile failure and plastic deformation, unlike the as-printed parts which exhibited brittle inter-laminar fracture. Parts with complex geometries are presented to demonstrate geometric stability during annealing and a practical load bearing application.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported in part by an appointment to the Postgraduate Research Participation Program at the U.S. Army Research Laboratory administered by the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education through an interagency agreement between the U.S. Department of Energy and USARL.

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  1. Materials and Manufacturing Sciences Division, U.S. Army Research Laboratory, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Aberdeen, MD, 21015, USA

    R. M. Dunn, K. R. Hart & E. D. Wetzel

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  1. R. M. Dunn
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  2. K. R. Hart
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  3. E. D. Wetzel
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Correspondence to E. D. Wetzel.

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Dunn, R.M., Hart, K.R. & Wetzel, E.D. Improving fracture strength of fused filament fabrication parts via thermal annealing in a printed support shell. Prog Addit Manuf 4, 233–243 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40964-019-00081-x

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