Influence of printing preferences on the properties of products

Neki od najvažnijih zahtjeva današnjeg tržišta su povišenje kvalitete proizvoda uz istodobno sniženje troškova, vremena razvoja i proizvodnje. Aditivna tehnologija nudi rješenja tim zahtjevima, a posljednjih nekoliko godina intenzivno se razvijaju niskobudžetni 3D pisači koji rade na načelu taložnog očvršćivanja (FDM/FFF). Kako bi se 3D-ispisom izrađivali kvalitetni prototipovi/proizvodi, potrebno je poznavati uvjete u kojima će se oni primjenjivati, a koji definiraju njihova potrebna svojstva te istražiti utjecaje pojedinih parametara 3D-tiska na konačna svojstva proizvoda. Cilj ovog istraživanja je ispitati utjecaj parametara 3D-tiskanja na svojstva opni kapsula koje se mogu primjenjivati kao oralni dozirni oblik. Upotrebom tzv. split-plot dizajna pripremljen je plan pokusa koji se sastoji od 16 eksperimenata. Ispitan je utjecaj kuta poklopca kapsule, temperature ekstrudera i brzine tiskanja na kvalitetu opne kapsule. Kvaliteta opne ocijenjena je vizualno analizom stereomikrografija svrstavanjem kapsula u kategorije od 1 – 5 te praćenjem vremena oslobađanja bojila iz kapsule. Kao medij je korišten 0,1 M HCl volumena 500 mL i pH vrijednosti 1,2. Temperatura medija podešena je na 37 ± 0,5 °C, a za miješanje su korištene lopatice promjera 74 mm. Ispitivanje utjecaja kuta tiskanja, brzine tiskanja i temperature ekstrudera na kvalitetu opne i vrijeme otpuštanja provedeno je u programskom paketu Design Expert 11. Varijanca je analizirana REML metodom. Zasebno je analiziran utjecaj ulaznih veličina na svaku izlaznu veličinu, odziv. Rezultati statističke obrade podataka pokazali su da će manja temperatura, manja brzina tiskanja i kut 0° dati kapsulu kvalitetnije opne, a time i dužeg vremena otpuštanja. Pronađeno rješenje, kao optimum procesa koji rezultira opnom kvalitete 5, daje kut od 0°, temperaturu ekstrudera 180 °C i brzina tiskanja 26,3 mm s^–1.Some of the most important requirements of today's market are to increase the quality of products while simultaneously reducing costs, time of development and production. Additive manufacturing offers solutions to these requirements, and in recent years, low-budget 3D printers based on the Fused deposition modeling (FDM / FFF) are intensively developing. In order to produce high-quality prototypes / products with 3D printing, it is necessary to know the conditions in which they will be applied, which define their required properties, and to explore the influence of certain 3D print parameters on the final product properties. The aim of this study is to examine the influence of 3D printing parameters on capsule shell properties that can be used as an oral dosage form. 16 experiments were made using split-plot design. The influence of the capsule angle, the extruder temperature, and the printing speed on the capsule shell quality was tested. Shell quality was rated visually by stereomicrography by classifying the capsules in categories 1 to 5 and monitoring the release time of the dye from the capsule. 500 mL of 0.1 M HCl, pH value 1.2, was used as medium. The medium temperature was set at 37 ± 0.5 ° C, and 74 mm diameter paddles were used for mixing. Impact study of capsule angle, extruder temperature, and printing speed on the shell quality was carried out in the Design Expert 11 software. The variance was analyzed by the REML method. The impact of input factors on each response has been separately analyzed. The results of statistical data processing have shown that lower temperature, lower print speed, and angle of 0° will give the capsule a better shell and thus a longer release time. The solution found, as the optimum of the process resulting with shell that has the quality 5, gives an angle of 0°, an extruder temperature of 180 °C and a printing speed of 26.3 mm s^–1