Fused filament fabrication and water contact angle anisotropy: The effect of layer height and raster width on the wettability of 3D printed polylactic acid parts

Abstract

Herein water contact angles obtained on 3D printed surfaces of polylactic acid, manufactured by fused filament fabrication, are measured and collated. Data are contained within the article and show that 3D printed parts exhibit considerable water contact angle anisotropy. A series of studies are presented whereby the fabricated layer height of the 3D print and the raster width of the print are varied. In general, we observe that contact angle anisotropy is greatest for larger z-layer heights and wider raster widths. The effect of different build platform surfaces is also studied, suggesting that for applications, where 3D prints are to be used in an aqueous environment, altering raster width and layer height provides a useful way to tune the wettability of the final 3D printed part. Furthermore, our results suggest end users should be cautious when changing the print settings of devices in wettable environments, since very different surface behaviors, which may impact reproducibility, can result.