Regulation of Mechanical Properties of 3D Printed Composites Using Interlocking Structure

Abstract

3d printing technology is beneficial for prototype cost and time savings and for small production of various products. In addition, it is widely used in various industries and research jobs because the manufacturing process is simplified and complex shapes are easily created, as well as reducing material costs. However, there was no technology that could print various physical properties at once. Although there is a multi-extruder print, if the two materials are different, the bonding strength between the materials is weakened, so there is a great difficulty in making the desired product.

This study presented a printing method that can select various physical properties by arranging two materials in an interlocking structure. The TPE filament, which is a soft material, and the PLA filament, which is a rigid material, can be used to express the physical properties between the physical properties of the soft material and the physical properties of the rigid material. Various physical properties are determined by the ratio and angle of the two substances. In addition, these materials are tightly bonded due to the interlocking structure. The results of this study suggest the possibility of using 3d printing material mixing techniques to obtain the desired properties.