N. Diaz Armas, G. Bertola, A. Senckowski, X. Lu, A. Ma, D. Kazmer, J. Mead
University of Massachusetts Lowell,
United States
Keywords: multimaterial printing, rubber, thermoplastics
Summary:
Fully compounded thermoset elastomers (rubber, filler, and curing agents) offer unique material properties and design flexibility through additive manufacturing (AM). However, their use in AM is still unexplored. A key challenge in 3D printing flexible materials with standard fused deposition modeling (FDM) systems is filament buckling, which hinders extrusion through the hot nozzle. This study utilized a ram-type extrusion system to address this issue, facilitating the processing of various elastomers and curing systems. Additionally, the research investigated multimaterial printing by combining this system with fused filament fabrication, focusing on adhesion between nitrile butadiene rubber (NBR) with four different thermoplastics. Findings showed that higher printing temperatures and lower curing temperatures with extended curing times improved adhesion. This study allows for the simultaneous printing of materials with different processing characteristics, integrating the advantages of thermosets and thermoplastics in complex designs. The implications of this research are significant for industries such as footwear, medical devices, seals, and soft robotics, enabling customizable and flexible manufacturing of compounded thermoset elastomers. They offer potential for applications requiring low temperature flexibility.