Characterization of biodegradable PLA and carbon fiber reinforced PLA produced by 3D printers

In the present research, a long carbon fiber reinforced poly lactic acid (PLA) composite is manufactured byan additive manufacturing technology using a fused deposition modeling (FDM) 3D printing. In this regard, differentconceptual designs are first compared and an innovative extruder is finally designed, manufactured and installed on aFDM printer. The main advantage of this design is that it can be installed on any available FDM 3D printer andconsequently there is no need to design a new chassis and controller. It is also an effective step towards the rapidprototyping of biodegradable composites. Finally, tensile specimens made of pure PLA and carbon fiber reinforcedPLA are printed by the new designed extruder and tested under quasi-static loading. Experimental results showsignificant improvements of mechanical properties.

Keywords:

3D printer , Fused decomposition modeling (FDM) , Biodegradable Composite , PLA