A New Generation of Bio-Composite Thermoplastic Filaments for a More Sustainable Design of Parts Manufactured by FDM
The most recent developments of Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM) techniques are moving the application of Additive Manufacturing (AM) technologies toward new areas of investigation such as the biomedical, aerospace, and marine engineering in addition to the more consolidated industrial and civil fie...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2020-08-01
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| Series: | Applied Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/10/17/5852 |
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| author | Michele Calì Giulia Pascoletti Massimiliano Gaeta Giovanni Milazzo Rita Ambu |
| author_facet | Michele Calì Giulia Pascoletti Massimiliano Gaeta Giovanni Milazzo Rita Ambu |
| author_sort | Michele Calì |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The most recent developments of Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM) techniques are moving the application of Additive Manufacturing (AM) technologies toward new areas of investigation such as the biomedical, aerospace, and marine engineering in addition to the more consolidated industrial and civil fields. Some specific characteristics are required for the components designed for peculiar applications, such as complex geometries, lightweight, and high strength as well as breathability and aesthetic appearance specifically in the biomedical field. All these design specifications could be potentially satisfied by manufacturing with 3D printing techniques. Moreover, the development of purpose-dedicated filaments can be considered a key factor to successfully meet all the requirements. In this paper, fabrication and applications of five new thermoplastic materials with fillers are described and analyzed. They are organic bio-plastic compounds made of polylactic acid (PLA) and organic by-products. The growing interest in these new composite materials reinforced with organic by-products is due to the reduction of production management costs and their low environmental impact. In this study, the production workflow has been set up and described in detail. The main properties of these new thermoplastic materials have been analyzed with a major emphasis on strength, lightweight, and surface finish. The analysis showed that these materials can be particularly suitable for biomedical applications. Therefore, two different biomedical devices were selected and relative prototypes were manufactured with one of the analyzed thermoplastic materials. The feasibility, benefits, and performance of the thermoplastic material considered for these applications were successfully assessed. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T16:55:20Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-d29195b893a5408399304510e13baf4c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-3417 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T16:55:20Z |
| publishDate | 2020-08-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Applied Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-d29195b893a5408399304510e13baf4c2023-11-20T11:09:56ZengMDPI AGApplied Sciences2076-34172020-08-011017585210.3390/app10175852A New Generation of Bio-Composite Thermoplastic Filaments for a More Sustainable Design of Parts Manufactured by FDMMichele Calì0Giulia Pascoletti1Massimiliano Gaeta2Giovanni Milazzo3Rita Ambu4Electric, Electronics and Computer Engineering Department, University of Catania, Viale A. Doria 6, 95125 Catania, ItalyDepartment of Engineering, V. Duranti 67, 06125 Perugia, ItalyDepartment of Chemical Sciences, University of Catania, Viale A. Doria 6, 95125 Catania, ItalyMICA S.r.l. Via Cesare Terranova 4, 97100 Ragusa (RG), Sicily, ItalyDepartment of Mechanical, Chemical and Materials Engineering, University of Cagliari, via Marengo 2, 09123 Cagliari, ItalyThe most recent developments of Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM) techniques are moving the application of Additive Manufacturing (AM) technologies toward new areas of investigation such as the biomedical, aerospace, and marine engineering in addition to the more consolidated industrial and civil fields. Some specific characteristics are required for the components designed for peculiar applications, such as complex geometries, lightweight, and high strength as well as breathability and aesthetic appearance specifically in the biomedical field. All these design specifications could be potentially satisfied by manufacturing with 3D printing techniques. Moreover, the development of purpose-dedicated filaments can be considered a key factor to successfully meet all the requirements. In this paper, fabrication and applications of five new thermoplastic materials with fillers are described and analyzed. They are organic bio-plastic compounds made of polylactic acid (PLA) and organic by-products. The growing interest in these new composite materials reinforced with organic by-products is due to the reduction of production management costs and their low environmental impact. In this study, the production workflow has been set up and described in detail. The main properties of these new thermoplastic materials have been analyzed with a major emphasis on strength, lightweight, and surface finish. The analysis showed that these materials can be particularly suitable for biomedical applications. Therefore, two different biomedical devices were selected and relative prototypes were manufactured with one of the analyzed thermoplastic materials. The feasibility, benefits, and performance of the thermoplastic material considered for these applications were successfully assessed.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/10/17/5852organic bio-composite filamentdesignadditive manufacturing capabilityroughnessmechanical propertiesbiomedical applications |
| spellingShingle | Michele Calì Giulia Pascoletti Massimiliano Gaeta Giovanni Milazzo Rita Ambu A New Generation of Bio-Composite Thermoplastic Filaments for a More Sustainable Design of Parts Manufactured by FDM Applied Sciences organic bio-composite filament design additive manufacturing capability roughness mechanical properties biomedical applications |
| title | A New Generation of Bio-Composite Thermoplastic Filaments for a More Sustainable Design of Parts Manufactured by FDM |
| title_full | A New Generation of Bio-Composite Thermoplastic Filaments for a More Sustainable Design of Parts Manufactured by FDM |
| title_fullStr | A New Generation of Bio-Composite Thermoplastic Filaments for a More Sustainable Design of Parts Manufactured by FDM |
| title_full_unstemmed | A New Generation of Bio-Composite Thermoplastic Filaments for a More Sustainable Design of Parts Manufactured by FDM |
| title_short | A New Generation of Bio-Composite Thermoplastic Filaments for a More Sustainable Design of Parts Manufactured by FDM |
| title_sort | new generation of bio composite thermoplastic filaments for a more sustainable design of parts manufactured by fdm |
| topic | organic bio-composite filament design additive manufacturing capability roughness mechanical properties biomedical applications |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/10/17/5852 |
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