Investigation of manufacturability of in-situ crosslinked polylactic acid (PLA) and peroxide composite in additive manufacturing

Abstract

Additive manufacturing is a production technology whose use in the industry is increasing day by day. Fused deposition modeling (FDM) is an additive manufacturing method that is widely used in the production of complex geometrical parts due to its low cost and design advantage. However, this method has a significant weakness such as the poor interfacial adhesion strength of polymer products. In this study, a new composite material was produced by peroxide reinforcing during the deposition of the polylactic acid (PLA) filament in a 3D printer working with FDM technology. The aim of this study is to increase the strength by providing cross-linking of PLA/peroxide composite. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis was performed to observe whether there is a chemical interaction between peroxide and PLA polymers. In order to observe the change in the mechanical properties of the 3D-printed composite samples, the tensile strength properties were investigated. In addition, the fracture surfaces of the composite samples after the tensile test were examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Experimental results showed that a composite material can be produced by in-situ cross-linking of PLA and peroxide polymers in 3D printer. In addition, it was observed that the interfacial strength between the fibers of the composite samples was increased by cross-linking, and the mechanical properties were improved accordingly. © 2024 Gazi Universitesi Muhendislik-Mimarlik. All rights reserved.