Abstract
Polymer additive manufacturing (AM) technology is rapidly growing and it is transitioning from being primarily a prototyping method to an advanced manufacturing technique. Melt extrusion/fused deposition modeling, a method in which molten thermoplastic-based feedstock material is deposited in a raster pattern layer by layer, is the most commonly used technique in polymer AM. The technique enables direct digital manufacturing of desired geometry with controlled anisotropic distribution of reinforcing phase. While thermoplastic composites are being used in many areas of industry including AM, due to increasing environmental and long-term sustainability concerns, there is an increasing interest in bio-based renewable alternatives. Nano-to-mm scale plant-based fibers are utilized to improve properties of thermoplastics and produce bio-composites. The effect of commercially available micro-scale cellulose fibers (MFC) on the mechanical and rheological behavior of polylactic acid to produce fully bio-based composites are being investigated and selected formulations will be 3D-printed to investigate the effect of printing process on MFC alignment. Significant increases in both tensile strength and elastic modulus of compression-molded MFC-PLA composites were observed at 40 % (by wt) fiber levels.
