Vidakis Nectarios, Petousis Markos, Mountakis Nikolaos, Karapidakis Emmanuel
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Hellenic Mediterranean University, Heraklion, 71410, Greece.
Electrical and Computer Engineering Dept., Hellenic Mediterranean University, Heraklion, 71410, Greece.
Heliyon. 2023 Jul 17;9(7):e18363. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e18363. eCollection 2023 Jul.
Currently, energy efficiency and saving in production engineering, including Material Extrusion (MEX) Additive Manufacturing, are of key importance to ensure process sustainability and cost-effectiveness. The functionality of parts made with MEX 3D-printing remains solid, especially for expensive high-performance polymers, for biomedical, automotive, and aerospace industries. Herein, the energy and tensile strength metrics are investigated over three key process control parameters (Nozzle Temperature, Layer Thickness, and Printing Speed), with the aid of laboratory-scale PEEK filaments fabricated with melt extrusion. A double optimization is attempted for the production by consuming minimum energy, of PEEK parts with improved strength. A three-level Box-Behnken design with five replicas for each experimental run was employed. Statistical analysis of the experimental findings proved that LT is the most decisive control setting for mechanical strength. An LT of 0.1 mm maximized the tensile endurance (∼74 MPa), but at the same time, it was responsible for the worst energy (∼0.58 MJ) and printing time (∼900 s) expenditure. The experimental and statistical findings are further discussed and interpreted using fractographic SEM and optical microscopy, revealing the 3D printing quality and the fracture mechanisms in the samples. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) was performed. The findings hold measurable engineering and industrial merit, since they may be utilized to achieve an optimum case-dependent compromise between the usually contradictory goals of productivity, energy performance, and mechanical functionality.
目前，生产工程中的能源效率和节约，包括材料挤出（MEX）增材制造，对于确保工艺可持续性和成本效益至关重要。用MEX 3D打印制造的零件功能依然可靠，特别是对于生物医学、汽车和航空航天工业中昂贵的高性能聚合物而言。在此，借助通过熔融挤出制造的实验室规模的聚醚醚酮（PEEK）长丝，研究了三个关键工艺控制参数（喷嘴温度、层厚和打印速度）对能量和拉伸强度指标的影响。尝试通过消耗最少能量来生产强度更高的PEEK零件，以实现双重优化。采用了三级Box-Behnken设计，每个实验运行有五个重复。对实验结果的统计分析证明，层厚（LT）是机械强度最具决定性的控制设置。0.1毫米的层厚使拉伸耐力最大化（约74兆帕），但与此同时，它导致了最差的能量消耗（约0.58兆焦）和打印时间（约900秒）。使用断口扫描电子显微镜（SEM）和光学显微镜对实验和统计结果进行了进一步讨论和解释，揭示了样品中的3D打印质量和断裂机制。进行了热重分析（TGA）。这些发现具有可衡量的工程和工业价值，因为它们可用于在通常相互矛盾的生产率、能源性能和机械功能目标之间实现取决于具体情况的最佳折衷。
