Designing and Manufacturing of Polymer‐Foam Hybrid Materials Using Fused Deposition Modeling

Abstract

3D printing technology has grown in the past decades. Faster and cheaper techniques are developed to produce complicated parts. It is also known that the hybrid material approach is beneficial in material selection. In this way, the mechanical properties are improved by using the materials instead of using them alone. In this study, TPE (Thermoplastic Elastomer) + Air and TPE + Foam hybrid materials are designed to get better performance than those obtained during only TPE material using. TPE are produced by 3D printer using FDM (Fused Deposition Modeling) technique. Fabricated hybrid materials are exposed to compression test according to ASTM D695 standard. The effect of different filling ratios and infill patterns are investigated. As a result of the study, the highest compressive strength is acquired with triangle infill pattern. These mechanical characteristics are increased in all infill patterns with increasing filling ratio. When TPE + Air and TPE + Foam hybrid materials are compared, higher Young's modulus and compressive yield strength values (about 95% increasing) are procured with TPE + foam hybrid materials. This hybrid material approach, rapid prototyping, and the combined use of foam material are provided a significant increment in compressive strength and a wide range of material properties can be obtained.