Investigations for melt flow index of Nylon6-Fe composite based hybrid FDM filament

Abstract

Purpose This paper aims to carry out experimental investigations highlighting the role of melt flow index (MFI) in fused deposition modelling (FDM) process by varying the proportion of the Fe powder which is being used as a filler material. An attempt has been made to standardize MFI of Nylon6-Fe composite material to be used as hybrid FDM filament. Design/methodology/approach In this research work, it is proposed to make a suitable blend of composite material for FDM filament which can be used directly for rapid tooling applications. Three controllable parameters (namely, composition/proportion of the filler for hybrid filament, extrusion temperature and extrusion load) were studied by using Taguchi L9 orthogonal array (O.A.) MFI which is an indication of flowability has been selected as output parameter. Findings MFI of hybrid composite filament material has been studied, and Taguchi’s L9 O.A. was applied under both the conditions of lower the better type and larger the better type. It is observed that the contribution of the extrusion load, extrusion temperature and proportion of the filler material is almost similar, whether lower the better type situation is considered or larger the better type is considered. Further, an attempt has been made to standardize the MFI of Nylon6-Fe composite material for industrial applications, as no standard is available for composites (presently, ASTM-D-1238-95 standard is being used for plastic based materials only). Originality/value In recent past, researchers have studied and analysed the flow of the material through the nozzle of the FDM machine, but very little work has been reported on study of the flow characteristics of filament material before the composite material is fed into the machine. This research can open new avenues in the field of MFI and deals with comparison of MFI of the existing FDM feedstock material with the new composite material. The developed feedstock material is ferromagnetic in nature and can find wide variety of industrial applications.