Chapter 14 - Recent progress on fused filament fabrication research: sustainable materials and processing parameters

Abstract

This chapter presents a review of composite material filaments used in fused filament fabrication (FFF) technology. Generally, thermoplastic polymer is the commercialized filament used for FFF. Nowadays, the range of feedstock filaments has become wider, including metal composites, ceramic composites, and fiber reinforced composites as FFF technologies that are widely used. However, in the development of new composite filaments, the FFF parameters were one of the limitations in producing printed parts as the melting point of the materials is crucial to ensure the material can pass through the heating element. Hence, the mechanical properties of composite materials are reviewed to study the strength of the final 3D-printed parts. Thus, this chapter reviews works on the development of materials for FFF and the effects of FFF process parameters on the mechanical properties of composite materials. This chapter also reviews works on the optimum process parameters used to obtain the best final parts printed by FFF.