DIPLOMA WORK
Improving the strength of 3D-printed components
Introduction
Polyamides were the first engineering plastics and still represent by far the biggest and most important class of these types of materials. Today, polyamides are seeing increased interest in additive manufacturing, a technology showing great promise for the future. However, to become a realistic alternative for production of load bearing parts and components the mechanical performance of products made with this technique needs to be improved.
In 2017 a diploma work with the title “3D printing using cross-linkable polymers” was carried out at the division of Product Development, Lund University. The diploma work showed that the strength of 3D printed polyamide parts can be improved by using reactive end cappers in the material. However, the quality of the test specimens was not perfect and the post-treatment of the specimens was not optimized so it is not clear how much the strength can be improved. The aim of this diploma work is therefore to show the full potential of using end cappers in 3D printed materials.
Objective
One keychallenge with additive manufacturing is the reduced mechanical performance of components made thereof, as compared to conventional processing techniques, e.g. injection molding and extrusion.The objective of this project is to make use of Nexam Chemical´s heat-activated crosslinking technology in order to elevate the performance of plastic components made by additive manufacturing.
Nexam Chemical´s technology is based on the chemical modification of thermoplastics by incorporation of reactive end cappers. This modificationdoes not alter the processing parameters of the polymer, but allows for a subsequent build-up of molecular weight upon thermal activation.
Project
In this project you will evaluate the full potential of cross-linkable polyamide compounds for additive manufacturing. The work will focus on manufacture of high quality test specimens, optimize the post-treatment of the specimens, and measure their mechanical properties. The estimated duration for the project is fivemonths, four of which will be dedicated to experimental work.
- Improve the 3D-printing equipment.
- Manufacture test specimens of high quality.
- Optimize the parameters for activation of cross-linking.
- Evaluate themechanical properties.
The diploma work will be carried out in close collaboration with Nexam Chemical, Lund. Thorough chemistry knowledge is advantageous, but not necessary.