Abbas Karim, Hedwig Lukas, Balc Nicolae, Bremen Sebastian
Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Applied Sciences Aachen, 52064 Aachen, Germany.
Department of Manufacturing Engineering, Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, 400641 Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
Polymers (Basel). 2023 Nov 1;15(21):4293. doi: 10.3390/polym15214293.
Traditional vulcanization mold manufacturing is complex, costly, and under pressure due to shorter product lifecycles and diverse variations. Additive manufacturing using Fused Filament Fabrication and high-performance polymers like PEEK offer a promising future in this industry. This study assesses the compressive strength of various infill structures (honeycomb, grid, triangle, cubic, and gyroid) when considering two distinct build directions (Z, XY) to enhance PEEK's economic and resource efficiency in rapid tooling. A comparison with PETG samples shows the behavior of the infill strategies. Additionally, a proof of concept illustrates the application of a PEEK mold in vulcanization. A peak compressive strength of 135.6 MPa was attained in specimens that were 100% solid and subjected to thermal post-treatment. This corresponds to a 20% strength improvement in the Z direction. In terms of time and mechanical properties, the anisotropic grid and isotropic cubic infill have emerged for use in rapid tooling. Furthermore, the study highlights that reducing the layer thickness from 0.15 mm to 0.1 mm can result in a 15% strength increase. The study unveils the successful utilization of a room-temperature FFF-printed PEEK mold in vulcanization injection molding. The parameters and infill strategies identified in this research enable the resource-efficient FFF printing of PEEK without compromising its strength properties. Using PEEK in rapid tooling allows a cost reduction of up to 70% in tool production.
传统的硫化模具制造复杂、成本高，且由于产品生命周期缩短和多样化的变体而面临压力。使用熔融长丝制造和聚醚醚酮（PEEK）等高性能聚合物的增材制造在该行业展现出了广阔的前景。本研究评估了在考虑两个不同的构建方向（Z、XY）时，各种填充结构（蜂窝状、网格状、三角形、立方体和螺旋状）的抗压强度，以提高PEEK在快速模具制造中的经济效率和资源效率。与聚对苯二甲酸乙二醇酯（PETG）样品的比较显示了填充策略的性能表现。此外，一个概念验证展示了PEEK模具在硫化中的应用。100%实心且经过热后处理的试样达到了135.6兆帕的峰值抗压强度。这相当于在Z方向上强度提高了20%。在时间和力学性能方面，各向异性的网格状和各向同性的立方体填充已被用于快速模具制造。此外，该研究强调将层厚从0.15毫米减小到0.1毫米可使强度提高15%。该研究揭示了室温下熔融长丝制造打印的PEEK模具在硫化注塑成型中的成功应用。本研究确定的参数和填充策略能够在不影响其强度性能的情况下实现PEEK的资源高效熔融长丝制造打印。在快速模具制造中使用PEEK可使模具生产成本降低多达70%。
