Special Issue "Polymeric Materials and Their Application in 3D Printing"

A special issue of Polymers (ISSN 2073-4360). This special issue belongs to the section "Polymer Applications".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 August 2023 | Viewed by 2799

Special Issue Editors

National Institute for Aerospace Research “Elie Carafoli” (INCAS), Bucharest, Romania
Interests: thermoplastic composites; fiber-reinforced polymeric composites; nanocomposites; materials for aircraft structures; mechanical testing; fractography
1. Department of Science and Engineering of Oxide Materials and Nanomaterials, Faculty of Applied Chemistry and Materials Science, University POLITEHNICA of Bucharest, 1-7 Gh. Polizu st., 011061 Bucharest, Romania
2. Academy of Romanian Scientists, 54 Splaiul Independenței st., Bucharest, Romania
Interests: bio(nano)materials; synthesis methods; materials processing and design; advanced coatings; tissue engineering; drug delivery; characterization methods
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In the last decade, additive manufacturing’s ability to produce customized parts with complex shapes has led to increased global demand for this technology as a manufacturing solution in various fields of engineering, from consumer goods, medicine, electronics, and construction to automotives and aerospace. Three-dimensional-printing-based technologies using polymeric materials offer cost-effectiveness, customized geometries, complex design, high-precision manufacturing, and reduced processing time while using highly sustainable materials.

This Special Issue aims to gather the latest research in the field of 3D-printed polymers designed for application in the fields in which this technology attracts the most attention and interest. Papers are expected to take experimental or simulation approaches to challenges in polymer and polymeric composite 3D printing techniques that are encountered in each engineering field. Overcoming 3D printing challenges will greatly contribute to advancing development in topics related to transport, engineering, medicine, and the environment. This Special Issue will focus on both fundamental and applied research aimed at the development, characterization, and application of polymers for 3D printing technologies implemented in, but not limited to: aerospace, automotives, construction, medicine, prototyping, and consumer goods (including electronics, sports, devices, spare parts, etc.).

Dr. Cristina-Elisabeta Pelin
Prof. Dr. Anton Ficai
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Polymers is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • 3D printing
  • thermoplastic polymers
  • thermoset polymers
  • polymeric (nano)composites
  • additive manufacturing methods and processing
  • mechanical properties
  • transport applications
  • medical applications
  • rapid prototyping
  • 3D printing design solutions

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

Article
Experimental Study of In-Process Heat Treatment on the Mechanical Properties of 3D Printed Thermoplastic Polymer PLA
Polymers 2023, 15(10), 2367; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym15102367 - 18 May 2023
Viewed by 394
Abstract
The scientific literature regarding additive manufacturing, mainly the material extrusion method, suggests that the mechanical characteristics of the parts obtained by this technology depend on a number of the input factors specific to the printing process, such as printing temperature, printing trajectory, layer [...] Read more.
The scientific literature regarding additive manufacturing, mainly the material extrusion method, suggests that the mechanical characteristics of the parts obtained by this technology depend on a number of the input factors specific to the printing process, such as printing temperature, printing trajectory, layer height, etc., and also on the post-process operations for parts, which, unfortunately, requires supplementary setups, equipment, and multiple steps that raise the overall costs. Therefore, this paper aims to investigate the influence of the printing direction, the thickness of the deposited material layer, and the temperature of the previously deposited material layer on the part tensile strength, hardness by means of Shore D and Martens hardness, and surface finish by using an in-process annealing method. A Taguchi L9 DOE plan was developed for this purpose, where the test specimens, with dimensions according to ISO 527-2 type B, were analysed. The results showed that the presented in-process treatment method is possible and could lead to sustainable and cost-effective manufacturing processes. The varied input factors influenced all the studied parameters. Tensile strength tended to increase, up to 12.5%, when the in-process heat treatment was applied, showed a positive linear variation with nozzle diameter, and presented considerable variations with the printing direction. Shore D and Martens hardness had similar variations, and it could be observed that by applying the mentioned in-process heat treatment, the overall values tended to decrease. Printing direction had a negligible impact on the additively manufactured parts’ hardness. At the same time, the nozzle diameter presented considerable variations, up to 36% for Martens hardness and 4% for Shore D, when higher diameter nozzles were used. The ANOVA analysis highlighted that the statistically significant factors were the nozzle diameter for the part’s hardness and the printing direction for the tensile strength. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymeric Materials and Their Application in 3D Printing)
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Article
Influence of 3D Printing Conditions on Some Physical–Mechanical and Technological Properties of PCL Wood-Based Polymer Parts Manufactured by FDM
Polymers 2023, 15(10), 2305; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym15102305 - 14 May 2023
Viewed by 567
Abstract
The paper investigates the influence of some 3D printing conditions on some physical–mechanical and technological properties of polycaprolactone (PCL) wood-based biopolymer parts manufactured by FDM. Parts with 100% infill and the geometry according to ISO 527 Type 1B were printed on a semiprofessional [...] Read more.
The paper investigates the influence of some 3D printing conditions on some physical–mechanical and technological properties of polycaprolactone (PCL) wood-based biopolymer parts manufactured by FDM. Parts with 100% infill and the geometry according to ISO 527 Type 1B were printed on a semiprofessional desktop FDM printer. A full factorial design with three independent variables at three levels was considered. Some physical–mechanical properties (weight error, fracture temperature, ultimate tensile strength) and technological properties (top and lateral surface roughness, cutting machinability) were experimentally assessed. For the surface texture analysis, a white light interferometer was used. Regression equations for some of the investigated parameters were obtained and analysed. Higher printing speeds than those usually reported in the existing literature dealing with wood-based polymers’ 3D printing had been tested. Overall, the highest level chosen for the printing speed positively influenced the surface roughness and the ultimate tensile strength of the 3D-printed parts. The cutting machinability of the printed parts was investigated by means of cutting force criteria. The results showed that the PCL wood-based polymer analysed in this study had lower machinability than natural wood. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymeric Materials and Their Application in 3D Printing)
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Article
Effect of Short Carbon Fiber Reinforcement on Mechanical Properties of 3D-Printed Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene
Polymers 2023, 15(9), 2011; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym15092011 - 24 Apr 2023
Viewed by 467
Abstract
The effect of short carbon fiber (SCF) filler on the mechanical properties of 3D-printed acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) was investigated. The fused filament fabrication (FFF) method was used for the manufacturing of samples. Elastic properties and strength characteristics of samples made of conventional [...] Read more.
The effect of short carbon fiber (SCF) filler on the mechanical properties of 3D-printed acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) was investigated. The fused filament fabrication (FFF) method was used for the manufacturing of samples. Elastic properties and strength characteristics of samples made of conventional ABS and SCF-reinforced ABS were compared in tensile and bending tests. Fracture toughness and critical strain energy release rate were also determined. In addition, 3D-printed monofilament SCF-reinforced samples were fabricated, the internal structure of which was analyzed using microcomputed tomography (micro-CT). Based on the tomography data, finite-element (FE) models of representative volume elements (RVEs) of the reinforced material were created and used for the numerical calculation of effective characteristics. Numerical and experimental results for the effective elastic properties were compared with the Mori-Tanaka homogenization technique. The ABS samples filled with SCF showed considerably higher mechanical characteristics than those of the conventional ABS. Finally, the dependence between the strength characteristics and elastic properties of the samples on the diameter of the nozzle used for 3D printing was established. 3D-printed ABS reinforced with SCF demonstrated a gain in tensile strength and fracture toughness by 30% and 20%, respectively. Interlayer adhesion strength in flexure tests showed an increase of 28% compared to pure ABS samples. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymeric Materials and Their Application in 3D Printing)
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Article
Effect of UV-C Radiation on 3D Printed ABS-PC Polymers
Polymers 2023, 15(8), 1966; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym15081966 - 21 Apr 2023
Viewed by 915
Abstract
During the initial stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare facilities experienced severe shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE) and other medical supplies. Employing 3D printing to rapidly fabricate functional parts and equipment was one of the emergency solutions used to tackle these shortages. [...] Read more.
During the initial stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare facilities experienced severe shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE) and other medical supplies. Employing 3D printing to rapidly fabricate functional parts and equipment was one of the emergency solutions used to tackle these shortages. Using ultraviolet light in the UV-C band (wavelengths of 200 nm to 280 nm) might prove useful in sterilizing 3D printed parts, enabling their reusability. Most polymers, however, degrade under UV-C radiation, so it becomes necessary to determine what 3D printing materials can withstand the conditions found during medical equipment sterilization with UV-C. This paper analyzes the effect of accelerated aging through prolonged exposure to UV-C on the mechanical properties of parts 3D printed from a polycarbonate and acrylonitrile butadiene styrene polymer (ABS-PC). Samples 3D printed using a material extrusion process (MEX) went through a 24-h UV-C exposure aging cycle and then were tested versus a control group for changes in tensile strength, compressive strength and some selected material creep characteristics. Testing showed minimal mechanical property degradation following the irradiation procedure, with tensile strength being statistically the same for irradiated parts as those in the control group. Irradiated parts showed small losses in stiffness (5.2%) and compressive strength (6.5%). Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was employed in order to assess if any changes occurred in the material structure. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymeric Materials and Their Application in 3D Printing)
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