Shrinkage of Biocomposite Material Specimens [HA/Bioplastic/Serisin] Printed using a 3D Printer using the Taguchi Method

Abstract

The Fused Deposition Modeling in the rapid prototyping technique was modified using a paste-shaped material with biocomposite material. One of the correction factors for the printed test specimen results is shrinkage. The paste material used is hydroxyapatite [CA5(PO4)6(OH)2] and tapioca bioplastic. Besides these materials, sericin is added, which is produced from extracts from silkworm cocoons. The composition of the biocomposite paste used with the ratio of hydroxyapatite and bioplastic was 40:50, 50:50, 60:40, by adding 0.3% sericin to the hydroxyapatite solution. The parameters used in the printing process of the test specimens are the perimeter speed of 60 mm/s, the infill speed of 10 mm/s, and the layer height of 0.45 mm. The design in this test has dimensions of 100mm long, 25mm wide, and 3mm thick. The optimal shrinkage of the test specimens was analyzed using the Taguchi method. Specimen printing is done by using additive manufacturing method. The process is carried out using a Portabee three-dimensional printing machine that uses a FDM system modified to an Aqueous-Based Extrusion Fabrication (ABEF) system. The results obtained that the optimum composition for shrinkage of the biocomposite material was 50:50 with the addition of 0.3% sericin to the hydroxyapatite solution.