On the Mechanical Performance of Polylactic Material Reinforced by Ceramic in Fused Filament Fabrication

This study addresses the potential of using ceramics-based filaments as a feedstock material in an additive manufacturing process. Tensile specimens of PLA-ceramic (PLC) material are manufactured using a fused deposition modelling process, applying various printing parameters including printing angle and part orientation. Mechanical testing is performed on both the filaments and 3D-printed parts, and the related engineering quantities are derived. The experimental results show that PLC wire properties are substantially restored for the horizontal and lateral printing orientations, with only a 9% reduction in stiffness. In addition, a typical elastic-plastic response is achieved with these orientations, allowing the PLC to achieve excellent stiffness and elongation-at-break performance. The mechanical performance of the PLC is explained by the large proportion of continuous filaments along the loading direction. In addition, the printing angle is found to be a secondary factor allowing for layups at -45°/+45° and 0°/90°, resulting in the best tensile performance. The downside of using PLC is the lack of mechanical transfer, which is associated with weak interfacial behaviour and the inability to achieve high tensile strength.