Development of a custom setup for additive manufacturing of high-performance thermoplastics

Abstract

Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF) is an addictive manufacturing process based on the extrusion of a continuous filament of thermoplastic material. There are several materials that are suitable for this production process, including high-performance plastics such as Polyether Ether Ketone (PEEK) or Polyetherimide (PEI). These high-performance thermoplastics produce components with higher strength and toughness than the standard printing plastics, as well as optimized thermal properties.A machine was designed and developed to produce specimens in these high-performance thermoplastics for further study of their physical and mechanical performance. This machine was designed using the CubeX 3D printer produced by 3D Systems as a base, retaining the main essential structure and kinematics to which several modifications were made so that it can work under the extreme operating conditions required for printing these materials. The main changes made to the original machine were the control board, that was replaced by the Duet 2 Wi-Fi Board, the extruder, changed to the E3D Titan Aqua and the build plate which was replaced by with the E3D High Temperature Heated Bed. In addition, a custom glycol-based cooling setup was implemented to cool both the extruder and the machine’s stepper motors, along with the development of a custom heating system for the printing environment.The proposed system has been successfully constructed, being able to produce functional parts in both PEEK and PEI plastics. Further research on the mechanical properties of the specimens produced is in progress.