Environment-friendly and reusable ink for 3D printing of metallic structures
There is an increasing need for 3D printing of metallic structures in a green and cost-effective way. Here, an environment-friendly and reusable metallic ink was developed for an economical metal 3D printing method. The metallic ink is composed of steel micro powders, a biodegradable polymer: chitos...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Elsevier
2018-12-01
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| Series: | Materials & Design |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264127518307184 |
| _version_ | 1819097206872866816 |
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| author | Chao Xu Qinghua Wu Gilles L'Espérance Louis Laberge Lebel Daniel Therriault |
| author_facet | Chao Xu Qinghua Wu Gilles L'Espérance Louis Laberge Lebel Daniel Therriault |
| author_sort | Chao Xu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | There is an increasing need for 3D printing of metallic structures in a green and cost-effective way. Here, an environment-friendly and reusable metallic ink was developed for an economical metal 3D printing method. The metallic ink is composed of steel micro powders, a biodegradable polymer: chitosan, acetic acid and deionized water. The metal 3D printing method consists of: (i) 3D printing of metallic structures using the metallic ink at room temperature, (ii) thermal treatments on the as-printed structures that decompose the polymer binder and sinter the steel powders, and (iii) an optional step: infiltrating melted copper into the sintered structures to achieve fully dense metal/metal hybrid structures. We demonstrate that any incorrectly built as-printed structures and scrap materials can be recycled and reused for 3D printing by dissolving them again in acetic acid. The fabricated structures after copper infiltration feature a low filament porosity of 1.0% which enables high properties such as an electrical conductivity of 1.3 × 106 S/m and a Young's modulus of 160 GPa. The metallic ink can be used for the 3D printing of high performance metallic structures while demonstrating a low environmental impact and a very effective utilization of metallic materials. Keywords: 3D printing, Metallic ink, Environment-friendly, Metallic structures, Secondary metal infiltration |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-22T00:11:25Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-b46ca8805de8477987115f14db3a36ea |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0264-1275 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-22T00:11:25Z |
| publishDate | 2018-12-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Materials & Design |
| spelling | doaj.art-b46ca8805de8477987115f14db3a36ea2022-12-21T18:45:26ZengElsevierMaterials & Design0264-12752018-12-01160262269Environment-friendly and reusable ink for 3D printing of metallic structuresChao Xu0Qinghua Wu1Gilles L'Espérance2Louis Laberge Lebel3Daniel Therriault4Department of Mechanical Engineering, Polytechnique Montreal, Montreal, QC H3T 1J4, CanadaDepartment of Chemical Engineering, Polytechnique Montreal, Montreal, QC H3T 1J4, CanadaDepartment of Metallurgy Engineering, Polytechnique Montreal, Montreal, QC H3T 1J4, CanadaDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, Polytechnique Montreal, Montreal, QC H3T 1J4, CanadaDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, Polytechnique Montreal, Montreal, QC H3T 1J4, Canada; Corresponding author.There is an increasing need for 3D printing of metallic structures in a green and cost-effective way. Here, an environment-friendly and reusable metallic ink was developed for an economical metal 3D printing method. The metallic ink is composed of steel micro powders, a biodegradable polymer: chitosan, acetic acid and deionized water. The metal 3D printing method consists of: (i) 3D printing of metallic structures using the metallic ink at room temperature, (ii) thermal treatments on the as-printed structures that decompose the polymer binder and sinter the steel powders, and (iii) an optional step: infiltrating melted copper into the sintered structures to achieve fully dense metal/metal hybrid structures. We demonstrate that any incorrectly built as-printed structures and scrap materials can be recycled and reused for 3D printing by dissolving them again in acetic acid. The fabricated structures after copper infiltration feature a low filament porosity of 1.0% which enables high properties such as an electrical conductivity of 1.3 × 106 S/m and a Young's modulus of 160 GPa. The metallic ink can be used for the 3D printing of high performance metallic structures while demonstrating a low environmental impact and a very effective utilization of metallic materials. Keywords: 3D printing, Metallic ink, Environment-friendly, Metallic structures, Secondary metal infiltrationhttp://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264127518307184 |
| spellingShingle | Chao Xu Qinghua Wu Gilles L'Espérance Louis Laberge Lebel Daniel Therriault Environment-friendly and reusable ink for 3D printing of metallic structures Materials & Design |
| title | Environment-friendly and reusable ink for 3D printing of metallic structures |
| title_full | Environment-friendly and reusable ink for 3D printing of metallic structures |
| title_fullStr | Environment-friendly and reusable ink for 3D printing of metallic structures |
| title_full_unstemmed | Environment-friendly and reusable ink for 3D printing of metallic structures |
| title_short | Environment-friendly and reusable ink for 3D printing of metallic structures |
| title_sort | environment friendly and reusable ink for 3d printing of metallic structures |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264127518307184 |
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