Abstract
Material extrusion 3D printing (ME3DP) based on fused deposition modeling (FDM) technology is currently the most commonly used additive manufacturing method. However, ME3DP suffers from a limitation of compatible materials and typically relies upon amorphous thermoplastics, such as acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS). The work presented here demonstrates the development and implementation of binary and ternary polymeric blends for ME3DP. Multiple blends of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), styrene ethylene butadiene styrene (SEBS), and ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) were created through a twin screw compounding process to produce novel polymer blends compatible with ME3DP platforms. Mechanical testing and fractography were used to characterize the different physical properties of these new blends. Though the new blends possessed different physical properties, compatibility with ME3DP platforms was maintained. Also, a decrease in surface roughness of a standard test piece was observed for some blends as compared with ABS.
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The work presented here was supported by a grant from the Intelligence Community Postdoctoral Research Fellowship Program through funding from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence under Grant No. 2012-12071000005. All statements of fact, opinion, or analysis expressed are those of the author and do not reflect the official positions or views of the Intelligence Community or any other U.S. Government agency. Nothing in the contents should be construed as asserting or implying U.S. Government authentication of information or Intelligence Community endorsement of the author’s views. Additional support came from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) under Grant No. 282002-8784. The facilities of the W.M. Keck Center for 3D Innovation and the Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering located at The University of Texas at El Paso were used for fabrication, SEM imaging, and material testing throughout this research project.
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Rocha, C.R., Perez, A.R.T., Roberson, D.A. et al. Novel ABS-based binary and ternary polymer blends for material extrusion 3D printing. Journal of Materials Research 29, 1859–1866 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1557/jmr.2014.158
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1557/jmr.2014.158