Optimization of fused filament fabrication parameters for natural fibre reinforced polylactic acid

Additive Manufacturing of wood-like structures is opening new possibilities for woodworkers, interior designers and construction workers. One way to realize this, is by fused filament fabrication (FFF) of natural fibre reinforced filaments. However, the behaviour of these materials for FFF applications has not yet been investigated. The effect of the nozzle temperature and printing speed on the print quality is examined for three PLA reinforced materials: i) a commercially available bamboo fibre filled PLA wire, and ii) two own-made PLA filaments, reinforced with bamboo and flax fibres, respectively. The reinforcing fibres of the own made filaments are longer than the ones used in the commercially available filaments and therefore there is the potential to stiffen the final part more. Cubes with an upright wall-thickness of one track were manufactured for one-factorial variation experiments on all materials and a two-factorial experiment was performed on the bamboo filament to additionally study the interaction of temperature and printing speed. The dimensional aspects: wall flatness, wall thickness and edge rounding were regarded as the response of interest. The neck formation between the consecutive tracks was studied as well as the rheology of the filaments. To complete the material-process-product analysis, tensile test bars were printed and the inter-and intra-layer porosity of the parts was characterized.status: submitte