3D-printed Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene Research Articles

Effect of Short Carbon Fiber Reinforcement on Mechanical Properties of 3D-Printed Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene.

The effect of short carbon fiber (SCF) filler on the mechanical properties of 3D-printed acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) was investigated. The fused filament fabrication (FFF) method was used for the manufacturing of samples. Elastic properties and strength characteristics of samples made of conventional ABS and SCF-reinforced ABS were compared in tensile and bending tests. Fracture toughness and critical strain energy release rate were also determined. In addition, 3D-printed monofilament SCF-reinforced samples were fabricated, the internal structure of which was analyzed using microcomputed tomography (micro-CT). Based on the tomography data, finite-element (FE) models of representative volume elements (RVEs) of the reinforced material were created and used for the numerical calculation of effective characteristics. Numerical and experimental results for the effective elastic properties were compared with the Mori-Tanaka homogenization technique. The ABS samples filled with SCF showed considerably higher mechanical characteristics than those of the conventional ABS. Finally, the dependence between the strength characteristics and elastic properties of the samples on the diameter of the nozzle used for 3D printing was established. 3D-printed ABS reinforced with SCF demonstrated a gain in tensile strength and fracture toughness by 30% and 20%, respectively. Interlayer adhesion strength in flexure tests showed an increase of 28% compared to pure ABS samples.

Reversible alteration of 3D printed polymer properties via infiltration of alumina by atomic layer deposition

3D printed acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) structures were infiltrated by alumina (Al2O3) using a trimethylaluminum(III) and water ALD process at 130 and 80 °C, respectively, to alter their physical properties. Differential scanning calorimetry was used to determine the glass transition temperature (Tg) of the polymers' pre- and post-deposition after varying the number of ALD cycles, resulting in a change of ∼9 and ∼ 27 °C for ABS and PVA, respectively. After one heat cycle, the postdeposition Tg reverted back to its predisposition point indicating reversibility of the deposition effects are possible. Optimal growing patterns, polymer composition, and inhibiting surface coatings—seen by energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy mapping—affected the amount of infiltration possible within the polymer substrate and, in turn, Tg. The results achieved provide guidelines to altering the physical and thermal properties of 3D printed polymer architectures.

Fabrication and Testing of a Vapor Polishing Device for ABS 3D-Printed Parts

Post-processing plays a significant role in improving the surface and mechanical properties of 3D-printed parts. One of these post-processing methods is vapor polishing which utilizes acetone to polish 3D-printed Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) specimen. This process is usually done using an improvised vapor polishing setup to achieve the desired surface finish of parts. Hence, in order to accomplish a uniform and standard polishing procedure for laboratory use, a vapor polishing device has been developed in this study. To assess the efficiency of the said device, the resulting surface roughness, dimensional accuracy, and tensile strength of ABS 3D-printed polished specimens have been evaluated and compared to unpolished specimen. The surface roughness of the cube specimen was captured using a Trinocular Microscope and was uploaded to the Mountains9 Topography software. Further, the dimensional accuracy of both polished and unpolished specimen has been measured using a digital Vernier Caliper. The data demonstrated that the polished specimen’s surface was enhanced while its shape, geometry, and dimension were preserved. Tensile tests on two (2) sample sets of polished and unpolished specimens revealed that polishing with acetone vapor using this developed device could improve the specimen’s tensile strength.

Comparative analysis of 3D-printed polylactic acid and acrylonitrile butadiene styrene: Experimental and Materials-Studio-based theoretical studies

Comparative analysis of 3D-printed polylactic acid and acrylonitrile butadiene styrene: Experimental and Materials-Studio-based theoretical studies

Friction Stir Welding Optimization of 3D-Printed Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene in Hybrid Additive Manufacturing.

The feasibility of joining material extrusion (MEX) 3D-printed acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) plates with the friction stir welding (FSW) process was investigated herein as a promising topic of hybrid additive manufacturing (HAM). The influence of three process parameters on the mechanical strength of the joints was thoroughly examined and analyzed with a full factorial experimental design and statistical modeling. Hereto, the welding tool pin geometry, travel speed, and rotational speed were investigated. The joint’s efficiency and quality are evaluated through tensile tests and morphological characterization. More specifically, specimens’ areas of particular interest were investigated with stereoscopic, optical, and scanning electron microscopy. Throughout the FSW experimental course, the welding temperature was monitored to evaluate the state of the ABS material during the process. The majority of the welded specimens exhibited increased mechanical strength compared with the respective ones of non-welded 3D printed specimens of the same geometry. Statistical modeling proved that all processing parameters were significant. The feasibility of the FSW process in 3D printed ABS workpieces was confirmed, making the FSW a cost-effective process for joining 3D printing parts, further expanding the industrial merit of the approach.

Processing and characterization of tailorable 3D-printed acrylonitrile butadiene styrene composites with hybrid buckypapers

In this work, a hybrid additive manufacturing process was used to incorporate hybrid buckypapers into an acrylonitrile butadiene styrene matrix. The buckypapers were made onsite during manufacturing from a suspension containing carbon nanotubes, short carbon fibres, and polymer binders. The 3D-printed composites were post-processed by vacuum bagging. The composites reinforced with hybrid buckypapers showed a higher tensile strength by 18% and a tensile modulus by 20% than neat ABS. Further improvement in tensile properties (up to 39%) was observed after the modification of hybrid buckypapers with epoxy or thermoplastic polyurethane binders. The porosity was reduced from 4.8% to 0.5% after the post-treatment of ABS. The microstructure of the hybrid buckypapers and the resulting mechanical properties of the composites depended on the weight fraction (1, 5, or 10 wt%) of binders. The composites without binders were the most porous and experienced a 64% reduction in interlaminar shear strength. The thermoplastic polyurethane had a negligible impact on interlaminar shear strength, while the epoxy binder fully recovered it. The results showed that the mechanical properties and morphology of composites containing hybrid reinforcement can be tailored by selecting the type and weight fraction of the polymer binder system.

Development of Low Shrinkage Curing Techniques for Unsaturated Polyester and Vinyl Ester Reinforced Composites.

This work investigated low shrinkage curing techniques and characterization of unsaturated polyester (UPE-8340) and vinyl ester (VE-922) reinforced composite. The reinforced polymeric composite was composed using various amounts (0.1 vol.% to 0.5 vol.%) of methyl ethyl ketone peroxide (MEKP) and the proportion of UPE and VE (5 vol.%) was kept fixed throughout the study. The epoxy matrix was formed using a 3D printed acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) dumbbell shape mold and the specimen was cured in the presence of air and an inner gas (carbon dioxide) using a customized ambient closed chamber system. The influence of MEKP on UPE and VE reinforce composites was studied by investigating curing kinetics, shrinkage, tensile properties, contact angle, and thermal stability. The CO2-cured results show a significant lower shrinkage rate and higher tensile strength and flexural modulus of UPE and VE reinforced composite articles compared with air-cured reinforced composite. These macro-scale results correlate with the air-cured structure, an un-banded smooth surface was observed, and it was found that the lowest amount of MEKP revealed significant improvement in the contact angle of UPET and VE reinforced composites.

Can a Black-Box AI Replace Costly DMA Testing?-A Case Study on Prediction and Optimization of Dynamic Mechanical Properties of 3D Printed Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene.

The complex and non-linear nature of material properties evolution during 3D printing continues to make experimental optimization of Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) costly, thus entailing the development of mathematical predictive models. This paper proposes a two-stage methodology based on coupling limited data experiments with black-box AI modeling and then performing heuristic optimization, to enhance the viscoelastic properties of FDM processed acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS). The effect of selected process parameters (including nozzle temperature, layer height, raster orientation and deposition speed) as well as their combinative effects are also studied. Specifically, in the first step, a Taguchi orthogonal array was employed to design the Dynamic Mechanical Analysis (DMA) experiments with a minimal number of runs, while considering different working conditions (temperatures) of the final prints. The significance of process parameters was measured using Lenth’s statistical method. Combinative effects of FDM parameters were noted to be highly nonlinear and complex. Next, artificial neural networks were trained to predict both the storage and loss moduli of the 3D printed samples, and consequently, the process parameters were optimized via Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO). The optimized process of the prints showed overall a closer behavior to that of the parent (unprocessed) ABS, when compared to the unoptimized set-up.

A Comparative Study for High-Cycle Bending Fatigue Lifetime and Fracture Behavior of Extruded and Additive-Manufactured 3D-Printed Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene Polymers

A Comparative Study for High-Cycle Bending Fatigue Lifetime and Fracture Behavior of Extruded and Additive-Manufactured 3D-Printed Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene Polymers

Dimensional Accuracy of 3D - Printed Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene: Effect of Size, Layer Thickness, and Infill Density

The adoption of Additive Manufacturing (AM) is continuously growing due to its capability to produce complex shapes which leads to the dependence of manufacturers on AM to replace conventional manufacturing processes. One important focus of research now is on the accuracy of 3D printed products produced via the Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM). These products have great potential to be applied to tooling and other rapid prototyping applications. The aim of this study is to assess the accuracy of 3D printed Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) through manual measurements of dimensions. Several sets of samples with cubic shapes were printed and measured using a digital micrometer to evaluate the dimensional accuracy of the 3d-printed parts. A 22 full factorial design was employed to investigate the effects of infill density and layer thickness on the dimensional accuracy of ABS parts.

Interdependencies between Dynamic Response and Crack Growth in a 3D-Printed Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) Cantilever Beam under Thermo-Mechanical Loads.

Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) is the most commonly used thermoplastic printing material for fused deposition modelling (FDM). FDM ABS can be used in a variety of complex working environments. Notably, the thermo-mechanical coupled loads under complex operating conditions may lead to cracking and ultimately catastrophic structural failure. Therefore, it is crucial to determine the crack depth and location before a structural fracture occurs. As these parameters affect the dynamic response of the structure, in this study, the fundamental frequency and displacement amplitude response of a cracked 3D-printed ABS cantilever beam in a thermal environment were analytically and experimentally investigated. The existing analytical model, specifically the torsional spring model used to calculate the fundamental frequency change to determine the crack depth and location was enhanced by the proposed Khan-He model. The analytical relationship between the displacement amplitude and crack was established in Khan-He model and validated for the first time for FDM ABS. The results show that a reduced crack depth and location farther from the fixed end correspond to a higher fundamental frequency and displacement amplitude. An elevated ambient temperature decreases the global elastic modulus of the cracked beam and results in a lower fundamental frequency. Moreover, a non-monotonic relationship exists between the displacement amplitude and ambient temperature. The displacement amplitude is more sensitive to the crack change than the fundamental frequency in the initial stages of crack growth.

Modified 3D-printed architectures: Effects of coating by alumina on acrylonitrile butadiene styrene

3D-printed acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) polymer structures were coated with alumina (Al2O3) using the trimethylaluminum(III) and water atomic layer deposition (ALD) process at 80 °C, which resulted in a 203 nm thin film with a 1.35 Å growth per cycle. This thin film was a well-adhered protective overcoating on ABS to prevent reaction with acetone vapors in a solvent resistance experiment. Scratch tests were not able to remove the overcoating from the polymer surface, which provided a 50% and 32% increase in acetone vapor resistance before initial deformation and complete structure collapse, respectively. A more aggressive tape test caused delamination of the protective coating. This proof-of-concept experiment demonstrates how 3D printing combined with ALD overcoating can alter the chemical characteristics of complex polymer architectures.

Effect of Ultrasonic Vibration on the Mechanical Properties of 3D Printed Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene and Polylactic Acid Samples

Effect of Ultrasonic Vibration on the Mechanical Properties of 3D Printed Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene and Polylactic Acid Samples

Antimicrobial Activity of 3D-Printed Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) Polymer-Coated with Silver Nanoparticles.

Medical devices with antimicrobial properties are a potential long-term solution to the high rate of multi-drug-resistant healthcare-associated infections. Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) are an established agent for effectively eliminating a wide range of microbial strains. AgNPs have been commonly incorporated into traditional plastic materials; however, recently, there has been increased interest in using AgNPs combined with 3D-printing technology for medical devices due to the accessibility and customizability of 3D-printed products. This study reports a novel method of utilizing acetone to partially dissolve 3D-printed polymer acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) plastic to attach a layer of AgNPs. The antimicrobial properties of this AgNP-coated surface were tested against several microbial strains prevalent in healthcare-associated infections. AgNP-coated ABS (AgNP-ABS) plastic demonstrated significant elimination of viable bacteria within 4 h for all tested bacterial species (Acinetobacter baumannii, non-pathogenic and pathogenic Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) and within 19 h for the tested fungus Candida albicans. The longevity of adhesion of AgNPs to the ABS plastic was assessed by checking antibacterial activity against A. baumannii after repeat use cycles. AgNP-ABS plastic showed decreased antibacterial efficacy with repeated use but maintained the ability to eliminate microbes within 3 h for up to eight use cycles. The AgNP-coated ABS plastic showed efficacy as an antimicrobial surface, and future studies will consider its applicability in the production of medical devices.

Laser cutting of 3D printed acrylonitrile butadiene styrene plates for dimensional and surface roughness optimization

Laser cutting of 3D printed acrylonitrile butadiene styrene plates for dimensional and surface roughness optimization

Modelling and Investigation of Crack Growth for 3D-Printed Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) with Various Printing Parameters and Ambient Temperatures.

Three-dimensional (3D) printing is one of the significant industrial manufacturing methods in the modern era. Many materials are used for 3D printing; however, as the most used material in fused deposition modelling (FDM) technology, acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) offers good mechanical properties. It is perfect for making structures for industrial applications in complex environments. Three-dimensional printing parameters, including building orientation, layers thickness, and nozzle size, critically affect the crack growth in FDM structures under complex loads. Therefore, this paper used the dynamic bending vibration test to investigate their influence on fatigue crack growth (FCG) rate under dynamic loads and the Paris power law constant C and m. The paper proposed an analytical solution to determine the stress intensity factor (SIF) at the crack tip based on the measurement of structural dynamic response. The experimental results show that the lower ambient temperature, as well as increased nozzle size and layer thickness, provide a lower FCG rate. The printing orientation, which is the same as loading, also slows the crack growth. The linear regression between these parameters and Paris Law’s coefficient also proves the same conclusion.

Soft Pneumatic Exoskeleton for Wrist and Thumb Rehabilitation

A huge population of the world is suffering from various kinds of disabilities that make basic daily activities to be challenging. The use of robotics for limb rehabilitation can assist patients to recover faster and reduce therapist to patient ratio. However, the main problems with current rehabilitation robotics are the devices are bulky, complicated, and expensive. The utilization of pneumatic artificial muscles in a rehabilitation system can reduce the design complexity, thus, making the whole system light and compact. This paper presents the development of a new 2 degree of freedom (DOF) wrist motion and thumb motion exoskeleton. A light-weight 3D printed Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) material is used to fabricate the exoskeleton. The system is controlled by an Arduino Uno microcontroller board that activates the relay to open and close the solenoid valve to actuate the wrist. It allows the air to flow into and out of the pneumatic artificial muscles (PAM) based on the feedback from the sliding potentiometer. The mathematical model of the exoskeleton has been formulated using the Lagrange formula. A Proportional Integral Derivative (PID) controller has been implemented to drive the wrist extension-flexion motion in achieving the desired set-points during the exercise. The results show that the exoskeleton has successfully realized the wrist and thumb movements as desired. The wrist joint tracked the desired position with a maximum steady-state error of 10% for 101.45ᵒ the set point.

Shock absorption of 3D-printed ABS and fabric for sports faceguard

Sports faceguards (FG) to protect the maxillofacial area get sweaty due to bad air permeability. To solve this problem, a combination of 3D-printed perforated acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) and knitted fabric with honeycomb structure (AKE) is considered as one option but it was unclear whether the combination have enough shock absorption ability or not. The aim of this study was to test the shock absorption ability of the various combination of 3D-printed materials compared with conventional FG. 3D-printed ABS sheets (100 mm square, 3 mm thick) were prepared with 5 different perforated patterns; ABS0 without hole, ABS10S with 2.52 mm round holes/10 % open area, ABS10 with 3.60 mm RHs/10 % OA, ABS20S with 2.56 mm RHs/20 % OA and ABS20 with 3.57 mm RHs/20 % OA. The hole arrangement was unified in the 45-degree staggered formation. The impact test was performed on each specimen with AKE (n=5 for each). The combination of polycaprolactone sheet without hole and polychloroprene rubber cushioning material was used as a control. The maximum loads, maximum stress and stress impressed area were analyzed using 2-way ANOVA with Dunnett's Test or Tukey HSD test ( p <0.05). On the maximum loads, maximum stress and stress impressed area, there was statistical interaction between ABS and AKE. The combination of ABS10S and AKE showed good enough shock absorption properties compatible to control. The FG made with 10% perforated ABS and honeycomb knitted fabric may establish good air permeability and enough shock-absorbing properties.

Air Permeability, Shock Absorption Ability, and Flexural Strength of 3D-Printed Perforated ABS Polymer Sheets with 3D-Knitted Fabric Cushioning for Sports Face Guard Applications.

Sports face guards (FGs) are devices that protect athletes from maxillofacial injury or ensure rapid return to play following orofacial damage. Conventional FGs are uncomfortable to wear owing to stuffiness caused by poor ventilation and often slip off due to increase in weight due to absorption of moisture from perspiration, lowering players’ performance. Herein, combinations of 3D-printed perforated acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) polymer sheets and 3D-knitted fabrics with honeycomb structures as cushioning materials were investigated to balance better wearing feel and mechanical properties. The flexural strength, weight, and shock absorption ability of, and air flow rate through, the ABS sheets with five different perforation patterns were evaluated and compared with those of conventional FG materials comprising a combination of polycaprolactone sheets for the medical splint and polychloroprene rubber for the cushioning material. The ABS sheets having 10% open area and 2.52 mm round holes, combined with knitted fabric cushioning, exhibited the requisite shock absorbing, higher air permeability, and lower weight properties than the conventional materials. Our results suggest that FGs fabricated using combinations of 3D-printed perforated ABS polymer sheets and 3D-knitted fabrics with honeycomb structures may impart enhanced wearing comfort for athletes.

Systematically Studying Dissolution Process of 3D Printed Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) Mold for Creation of Complex and Fully Transparent Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) Fluidic Devices

Our major objective in this study was to create complex, three-dimensional, and fully transparent polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) fluidic device by revising the previously reported fabrication process and to systematically study the influence of each fabrication step to the final PDMS fluidic device. The current fabrication process adopted fused deposition modeling (FDM) 3D printers to create molds of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) for use in PDMS casting, then solvent solution was used to dissolve the ABS mold embedded inside the PDMS device and a transparent PDMS device was created for experiments. However, it is quite challenging to ensure the complete removal of ABS molds inside the long, curly, and narrow channels. Ultrasonication was added into our fabrication process to improve the efficacy of dissolving ABS molds inside the channels and conclusions can be derived from these experiments: (1) ultrasonication-assisted dissolution is an effective approach to the complete removal of ABS molds embedded inside these long, curly, and narrow channels (for example, the mixer demonstrated herein had a diameter of 2 mm and length of 162 mm); (2) the application of solvent vapor polishing to 3D-printed molds is highly effective in reducing the surface roughness of the molds (8 ~ 10 μm before polishing to 038 ~ 0.5 μm after polishing) and important to preserve the transparency of the resulting PDMS devices; (3) ensuring the circulation of fresh solvent solution is critical to shorten the dissolution process.