Effect of composition on the mechanical properties of 3d printed polymer nanocomposites

Fused filament fabrication (FFF) is one of the most widely employed techniques in additive manufacturing. Despite its ease of use and environmentally friendly nature, FFF has only demonstrated a narrow range of applications due to the limited number of materials compatible with the technique. Furthermore, FFF printed parts exhibit inferior mechanical properties compared to those of their conventionally manufactured counterparts. An approach for tailoring the properties of printing materials and extending the applicability of FFF is the addition of nanoparticles to the polymer, such as organo-modified nanoclays. To date, there has been only limited research using this approach but some improvement in properties has been obtained. This research concerns polylactide-nanoclay composites and investigates the effect of the clay type and content on the 3D printed product. This is the first systematic study on the mechanical properties of 3D printed PLA/clay samples by an extrusion-based technique. The introduction of clays to the PLA matrix was found to improve the modulus of elasticity of the 3D printed PLA/clay samples. However, this behaviour was accompanied by a decrease in the ultimate tensile strength and elongation at break, while the flexural properties exhibited similar trend to the tensile properties. The quality of the printed filament was related to the non-uniform dispersion of clays in the polymer matrix