Polymer matrix composites in 3D printing: A state of art review

Abstract

3D Printing is a set of advanced manufacturing techniques which facilitate layer by layer fabrication of customized products with intricate designs using wide selection of materials such as polymers, metals, ceramics, composites etc. 3D printing processes are becoming the need of the industry nowadays owing to their capability to manufacture complex structures with variable mechanical, electrical and thermal properties. In this paper an endeavour has been made to recognize the different Polymer Matrix Composite (PMC) materials used for the 3D printing through an extensive literature survey. Screw extrusion most popular technology as wide range of virgin thermoplastic polymers and PMCs can be used as raw material for 3D printing. This study disclose that researchers have primarily focussed on development of in-house Polymer Matrix Composite materials using variable composition, size and type of reinforcements and matrix. As a result, these materials exhibited variable mechanical, thermal, electrical and tribological properties. This paper also highlights different polymer processing techniques, methodology adopted and findings of recent studies executed to investigate the properties of polymer matrix composites. Moreover, applicability of material developed in each study has been indicated. It can be predicted that presence of 3d printed materials especially composite structures have ever increasing applications in various fields such as Biomedical, Aerospace, Military, Automobile and ornaments/jewellery. The pathways for potential researchers working in advancement of different polymer matrix composites in 3D printing have been highlighted.