Current understanding and challenges in high temperature additive manufacturing of engineering thermoplastic polymers

Arit Das; Camden A. Chatham; Jacob J. Fallon; Callie E. Zawaski; Eric L. Gilmer; Christopher B. Williams; Michael J. Bortner

doi:10.1016/j.addma.2020.101218

Current understanding and challenges in high temperature additive manufacturing of engineering thermoplastic polymers

Arit Das, Camden A. Chatham, Jacob J. Fallon, Callie E. Zawaski, Eric L. Gilmer, Christopher B. Williams, Michael J. Bortner

Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review

159 Scopus citations

Abstract

The strengths of additive manufacturing (AM), especially the tool-less manufacturing paradigm and rapid production of low-volume products, are well-aligned with the needs of manufacturing of expensive, high-temperature resistant, engineering thermoplastic polymers. High temperature polymer parts made with AM for either tooling or end-use applications have been implemented in the aerospace, automotive, and biomedical fields. However, parts made from these polymers using traditional manufacturing processes are generally high-value parts in low-quantity production runs. Moreover, AM processing of these polymers present significant challenges due to limitations associated with large thermal gradients, residual stress buildup, and interlayer adhesion as well as the inability of the printers to consistently maintain required high processing temperatures. This review highlights the current state of the art for processing high-temperature (i.e., traditional processing temperatures exceeding 250°C) thermoplastic polymers by the melt-based, AM processes of material extrusion (MatEx) and laser powder bed fusion (PBF). The authors address common challenges to AM of high-temperature polymers and gaps in fundamental understanding of the process-structure-property relationships needed to identify the machine design, process parameter selection, and synthetic modifications to enable processing.

Original language	English
Article number	101218
Journal	Additive Manufacturing
Volume	34
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addma.2020.101218
State	Published - Aug 2020
Externally published	Yes

Funding

A.D. would like to acknowledge funding from the Adhesives and Sealants graduate research assistantship from the Macromolecules Innovation Institute (MII) at Virginia Tech. C.A.C. would like to acknowledge funding from the Department of Energy's Kansas City National Security Campus, operated by Honeywell Federal Manufacturing & Technologies, LLC under contract number DE-NA0002839. All the authors would also like to acknowledge the MII at Virginia Tech for providing the collaborative infrastructure at Virginia Tech focused across the spectrum of polymer science and engineering. A.D. would like to acknowledge funding from the Adhesives and Sealants graduate research assistantship from the Macromolecules Innovation Institute (MII) at Virginia Tech. C.A.C. would like to acknowledge funding from the Department of Energy’s Kansas City National Security Campus, operated by Honeywell Federal Manufacturing & Technologies, LLC under contract number DE-NA0002839. All the authors would also like to acknowledge the MII at Virginia Tech for providing the collaborative infrastructure at Virginia Tech focused across the spectrum of polymer science and engineering.

Keywords

3D printing
High temperature engineering thermoplastics
Material extrusion
Powder bed fusion
Thermoplastic processing

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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10.1016/j.addma.2020.101218

Cite this

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title = "Current understanding and challenges in high temperature additive manufacturing of engineering thermoplastic polymers",

abstract = "The strengths of additive manufacturing (AM), especially the tool-less manufacturing paradigm and rapid production of low-volume products, are well-aligned with the needs of manufacturing of expensive, high-temperature resistant, engineering thermoplastic polymers. High temperature polymer parts made with AM for either tooling or end-use applications have been implemented in the aerospace, automotive, and biomedical fields. However, parts made from these polymers using traditional manufacturing processes are generally high-value parts in low-quantity production runs. Moreover, AM processing of these polymers present significant challenges due to limitations associated with large thermal gradients, residual stress buildup, and interlayer adhesion as well as the inability of the printers to consistently maintain required high processing temperatures. This review highlights the current state of the art for processing high-temperature (i.e., traditional processing temperatures exceeding 250°C) thermoplastic polymers by the melt-based, AM processes of material extrusion (MatEx) and laser powder bed fusion (PBF). The authors address common challenges to AM of high-temperature polymers and gaps in fundamental understanding of the process-structure-property relationships needed to identify the machine design, process parameter selection, and synthetic modifications to enable processing.",

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author = "Arit Das and Chatham, {Camden A.} and Fallon, {Jacob J.} and Zawaski, {Callie E.} and Gilmer, {Eric L.} and Williams, {Christopher B.} and Bortner, {Michael J.}",

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doi = "10.1016/j.addma.2020.101218",

language = "English",

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AU - Chatham, Camden A.

AU - Fallon, Jacob J.

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AU - Gilmer, Eric L.

AU - Williams, Christopher B.

AU - Bortner, Michael J.

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N2 - The strengths of additive manufacturing (AM), especially the tool-less manufacturing paradigm and rapid production of low-volume products, are well-aligned with the needs of manufacturing of expensive, high-temperature resistant, engineering thermoplastic polymers. High temperature polymer parts made with AM for either tooling or end-use applications have been implemented in the aerospace, automotive, and biomedical fields. However, parts made from these polymers using traditional manufacturing processes are generally high-value parts in low-quantity production runs. Moreover, AM processing of these polymers present significant challenges due to limitations associated with large thermal gradients, residual stress buildup, and interlayer adhesion as well as the inability of the printers to consistently maintain required high processing temperatures. This review highlights the current state of the art for processing high-temperature (i.e., traditional processing temperatures exceeding 250°C) thermoplastic polymers by the melt-based, AM processes of material extrusion (MatEx) and laser powder bed fusion (PBF). The authors address common challenges to AM of high-temperature polymers and gaps in fundamental understanding of the process-structure-property relationships needed to identify the machine design, process parameter selection, and synthetic modifications to enable processing.

AB - The strengths of additive manufacturing (AM), especially the tool-less manufacturing paradigm and rapid production of low-volume products, are well-aligned with the needs of manufacturing of expensive, high-temperature resistant, engineering thermoplastic polymers. High temperature polymer parts made with AM for either tooling or end-use applications have been implemented in the aerospace, automotive, and biomedical fields. However, parts made from these polymers using traditional manufacturing processes are generally high-value parts in low-quantity production runs. Moreover, AM processing of these polymers present significant challenges due to limitations associated with large thermal gradients, residual stress buildup, and interlayer adhesion as well as the inability of the printers to consistently maintain required high processing temperatures. This review highlights the current state of the art for processing high-temperature (i.e., traditional processing temperatures exceeding 250°C) thermoplastic polymers by the melt-based, AM processes of material extrusion (MatEx) and laser powder bed fusion (PBF). The authors address common challenges to AM of high-temperature polymers and gaps in fundamental understanding of the process-structure-property relationships needed to identify the machine design, process parameter selection, and synthetic modifications to enable processing.

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Current understanding and challenges in high temperature additive manufacturing of engineering thermoplastic polymers

Abstract

Funding

Keywords

UN SDGs

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