Publication: Effect of fused deposition modelling (fdm) on the properties of toughened polylactic acid
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Date
2024-08-01
Authors
Che Nurul Syafiqah Binti Che Mohd Faidi
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Abstract
Polylactic acid (PLA) is a common polymer for fused deposition modelling (FDM). Although it is environmentally friendly and biocompatible, PLA is a brittle polymer. Meanwhile, polyhydroxybutyrate-co-hydroxy valerate (PHBV) is another brittle biodegradable polymer but it is not widely used in FDM. Blending of PHBV with PLA potentially expands its application in FDM. However, the blend requires a plasticizer to reduce brittleness. The objective of this study is to determine the optimum compositions of tributyl citrate (TBC) in PLA/PHBV blends and investigate the effects of printing parameters such as nozzle temperature, bed temperature, and printing speed on the tensile and warpage properties. Various plasticised and unplasticised PLA/PHBV blend compositions were produced using an internal mixer. The blend of 70PLA/30PLA-10TBC is considered optimum composition and was processed into filaments, and then 3D printed into the desired shape. Warping samples were made using an FDM machine with varying printing parameters. The findings indicate that the incorporation of PHBV and TBC improved the thermal properties and ductility of the material. Optimised FDM parameters, including nozzle temperature of 210°C, bed temperature of 60°C and printing speed of 80mm/s further enhanced these properties. Additionally, the FDM-printed samples exhibited greater elongation at break compared to their compression-moulded counterparts