Friction Behavior of 3D-printed Polymeric Materials Used in Sliding Systems

Nicolae-Alexandru Stoica,Alina-Maria Stoica,Georgiana Chisiu

doi:10.37358/mp.21.1.5457

Abstract

Recently, 3D-printed polymeric materials have been successfully replacing the usual ones especially used in sliding systems like couplings. Among the polymeric materials, Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) and Poly Lactic Acid (PLA) can be the competitive materials in such application after 3D-printing. In this study, 3D printing was used to produce samples from ABS and PLA via fused deposition modelling (FDM) technology. Then friction behavior of 3D-printed samples was investigated depending on printing orientation of the samples. Ultra High Molecular Polyethylene Weight (UHMWPE), as a well-known industrial polymer, was also used for comparing the friction behavior of 3D-printed ABS and PLA polymers. Friction tests were conducted using a pin-on-plate type tribometer according to ASTM G133 under different applied loads and sliding speeds at room temperature. It was found that printing orientation of all ABS and PLA samples has a considerable effect on their friction behavior. Transverse direction (T.D) of the 3D-printed samples shows higher coefficient of friction (COF) values than the longitudinal direction under all applied loads and sliding speeds. On the other hand, COF values obtained in both 3D-printed samples increase as the load and speed increase regardless of the printing direction. When both 3D-printed materials are compared, PLA samples exhibit lower COF values than ABS samples in both printing directions and under all loads and speeds. However, the UHMWPE sample produced with traditional method shows much lower COF values and stable change in friction behavior under all conditions compared to 3D-printed PLA and ABS samples.

Highlights

In some practical applications, the couple of metal/polymeric materials is often used to reduce the friction that occurs in the sliding conditions as in the case of Figure 1
This paper investigates the friction behavior of two different 3D-printed polymeric materials (Acrylo-nitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS), Poly Lactic Acid (PLA)) depending on printing orientations at different sliding speeds and under different applied loads
-the samples from Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) and PLA polymeric materials were successfully produced by 3D printing using fused deposition modelling (FDM) technology;

Summary

Introduction

The couple of metal/polymeric materials is often used to reduce the friction that occurs in the sliding conditions as in the case of Figure 1. In such applications, many polymeric materials are commonly used because of their good self-lubricated properties [1]. Three-dimensional (3D) printing technology has been widely used especially for complex shaped parts. As known, this technology is an additive manufacturing (AM) process that enables the fabrication of different shaped parts by adding layers of materials on top of each other successively [2]. The process proceeds by melting the filament of thermoplastic polymer and solidifying into final parts (Figure 2). 3D printed materials generally have anisotropic properties due to the layer by layer processing procedure

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