Progress report - ESR 4: Nayan Dhakal

date: May 05, 2022

category: News

Development of 3D printing multiphase self-lubricating filaments for low friction composites

Additive manufacturing is growing as green manufacturing technology with high material utilization, minimized energy consumption, and reduced carbon footprint. The fabrication of end-use products in a layer-on-layer additive process makes 3D printing resource- and time-efficient as compared to traditional subtractive manufacturing methods. Therefore, this work investigates the feasibility of 3D printing to produce polymeric tribo materials with self-lubricity and low friction properties for tribological applications with environmental and economic benefits. During the last year, fused filament fabrication (FFF) technique was utilized to additively manufacture acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) components. The influence of 3D printing speed and raster angle orientation on the part characteristics of experimentally prepared ABS were investigated. The investigation of tribological performance, mechanical properties, microstructure, and fracture behavior were performed on the parts fabricated under a heated and controlled build chamber environment. The results exhibited that rater angle orientation influences the tribological and mechanical properties of printed ABS. However, increased printing speed showed insignificant influence on the frictional responses, mechanical properties, and fracture behavior. Tribological performance of 3D printed ABS showed reduced friction coefficients and comparable specific wear rates versus commercially available injection-molded ABS. The increased printing speed resulting in comparable part characteristics allowed for significantly reduced printing time. The findings suggest that FFF 3D printing technique can be effectively employed to additively manufacture polymer components with potential minimization of energy consumption and reduction of carbon footprint. Further work will be carried out on the experimentally prepared filaments and printed polymer components for tribological applications.

The key academic groups of TRIBOS consortium are leading and world renown in their own field of Tribology and Surface engineering. They are very complementary from point of view of surfaces, lubricants and interfaces, as well as engineering component design. Thus, their involvement in a single programme enables integration of the whole range of tribology sub-areas required for successful application solutions.