Relationship Between Conductivities and Shape Memory Performance of FDM Composite Filaments

Abstract

Silicon Carbide (SiC) and Carbon filled PLA Composite filaments made for use with Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) were tested for their shape memory properties. Paper shows the relationship between the thermal and electrical conductivities of the filament and its shape recovery performance. The addition of SiC and graphite fillers accelerates the shape memory performance of PLA composites. Electrical conductivity of the filaments was characterized with I-V curves. Thermal conductivity measurements were performed, based on the ASTM D5470, on both FDM filaments and parts made with pure PLA and PLA composites. The results indicated that thermal conductivity increases with increasing SiC filler content. The conductivity increases correlate well with the reduction in the time to induce the shape recovery transition. This correlation enables control of shape transition timings in a part through the design of material composition.