Design and optimization of electro-functional polymeric components exercising entropy-weighted TOPSIS method

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Surface Engineering
• Additive Manufacturing

Background:

• Electroplating non-conductive polymers is challenging due to their inherent lack of conductivity.
• 3D-printed polymers require enhanced mechanical and electrical properties for broader engineering applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design and construct a specialized electroplating apparatus for selective metallization of 3D-printed polymers.
• To optimize electroplating parameters for improved plating thickness and reduced electrical resistance.
• To develop a method for creating lightweight, electro-functional polymeric composites.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a Taguchi L16 orthogonal array Design of Experiments (DOE) with 3 factors (current, plating time, graphite layer thickness) at 4 levels.
• Performed Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) to determine the significance of each process parameter.
• Employed the Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) with entropy weighting for multi-criteria optimization.

Main Results:

• Identified the optimal parameters for electroplating and electrical functionality.
• Demonstrated the influence of current, plating time, and graphite layer thickness on plating thickness and electrical resistance.
• Achieved enhanced mechanical and electrical characteristics in metallized 3D-printed polymer materials.

Conclusions:

• The combination of additive manufacturing and electroplating is a viable approach for producing advanced materials.
• Developed electro-functional polymeric composites offer potential applications in aerospace, electronics, and other engineering fields.
• The optimized process enables the creation of lightweight, high-performance materials through selective metallization.