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Surface Structure Modification in Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF) Multi-Material Printing for Medical Applications:
Emila Brancewicz-Steinmetz1, Natalia Słabęcka1, Patryk Śniarowski1
1Institute of Materials Science and Engineering, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Lodz University of Technology, Łódź, Poland.
3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing
|December 30, 2024
Summary
Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF) printing enhances prosthetics by enabling multi-material designs. A novel sandwich structure significantly improved adhesion between rigid and flexible materials, preventing delamination in 3D-printed prostheses.
Area of Science:
- Additive Manufacturing
- Materials Science
- Biomedical Engineering
Background:
- Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF) is a versatile 3D printing technique valuable for cost-effective prosthetic device manufacturing.
- Multi-material printing is crucial for advanced prosthetics, but inter-material adhesion and delamination pose significant challenges.
- Combining rigid and flexible materials is essential for functional prostheses, particularly for complex designs like prosthetic hands.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate methods for improving interfacial adhesion between rigid and flexible materials in FFF multi-material printing.
- To address the problem of delamination at the interface of dissimilar materials used in 3D-printed prosthetics.
- To develop and validate a structural modification for enhanced bond strength in rigid-flexible material joints.
Main Methods:
- Tested various rigid-flexible material combinations (PLA-TPU, ABS-TPU) using three-point bending tests.
- Selected the PLA-TPU85 joint for further optimization due to superior force transfer capabilities.
- Designed and implemented a sandwich-type interfacial structure to enhance adhesion, followed by shear testing.
Main Results:
- The PLA-TPU85 joint demonstrated the best performance in initial three-point bending tests.
- Samples with the novel sandwich structure exhibited significantly improved adhesion and maintained integrity under shear stress.
- Samples without the sandwich structure delaminated during shear testing, highlighting the structure's effectiveness.
Conclusions:
- The developed sandwich-type structure effectively enhances adhesion between rigid and flexible materials in FFF printing.
- This solution successfully mitigates delamination issues in multi-material interfaces.
- The validated technique can be applied to the fabrication of more robust and functional 3D-printed prostheses.
