Effects of In-Process Temperatures and Blending Polymers on Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene Blends

Abstract

Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) is a renowned commodity polymer for additive manufacturing, particularly fused deposition modelling (FDM). The recent large-scale applications of 3D-printed ABS require stable mechanical properties than ever needed. However, thermochemical scission of butadiene bonds is one of the contemporary challenges affecting the overall ABS stability. In this regard, literature reports melt-blending of ABS with different polymers with high thermal resistance. However, the comparison for the effects of different polymers on tensile strength of 3D-printed ABS blends was not yet reported. Furthermore, the cumulative studies comprising both blended polymers and in-process thermal variables for FDM were not yet presented as well. This research, for the first time, presents the statistical comparison of tensile properties for the added polymers and in-process thermal variables (printing temperature and build surface temperature). The research presents Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) to explain the thermochemical reasons behind achieved mechanical properties. Overall, ABS blend with PP shows high tensile strength (≈31 MPa) at different combinations of in-process parameters. Furthermore, some commonalities among both blends are noted, i.e., the tensile strength improves with increase of surface (bed) and printing temperature.