3D printing of shape memory polymer for functional part fabrication. Issue 9 (June 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Yang, Yang; Chen, Yonghua; Wei, Ying; Li, Yingtian
• Is Part Of: International journal of advanced manufacturing technology. Volume 84:Issue 9/12(2016)
• Page Start: 2079
• Page End: 2095
• Publication Date: 2016-06
• Subjects: Additive manufacturing -- 3D printing -- Shape memory polymer -- SMP -- Fused deposition modeling -- Printed actuators; Manufacturing processes -- Periodicals; Production engineering -- Periodicals; 670.427
• DOI: 10.1007/s00170-015-7843-2
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0268-3768

Abstract

Abstract This article presents a novel method of shape memory polymer (SMP) processing for additive manufacturing, in particular, fused-deposition modeling (FDM). Critical extrusion process parameters have been experimented to determine an appropriate set of parameter values so that good-quality SMP filament could be made for FDM. In the FDM process, effects of different printing parameters such as extruder temperature and scanning speed on object printing quality are also studied. In all the process studies, we aim to achieve good-quality parts by evaluating part density, tensile strength, dimensional accuracy, and surface roughness. Based on these studies, sample SMP models have been successfully built. Due to the thermal sensitive nature of the printed SMP parts, they can potentially be used as fasteners in active assembly/disassembly, smart actuators, deployable structures for aero-space applications, etc.