Development of 3D printed novel multi-polymer component based on blended filaments of polylactic acid and polyethylene terephthalate glycol

This work presents the fabrication of a multi-polymer component (MPC) using polylactic acid (PLA) and polyethylene terephthalate glycol (PETG) through an additive manufacturing process. PETG was blended with PLA in weight percentages of 6%, 12%, and 18% using a twin-screw extruder to make pellets. The mixed pellets were extruded into 1.75 mm filaments for 3D printing MPCs. The MPC samples were 3D-printed using a PRATHAM 3.0 3D printer. The characteristic behavior of the MPC was compared to its base materials in terms of tensile strength, compressive strength, flexural strength, elongation-at-break, glass transition temperature, and water uptake percentage. The results revealed a marginal reduction in tensile strength with the addition of PETG to PLA. However, a noticeable enhancement (33.05%) in the elongation-at-break was achieved for the MPC containing 18 wt.% PETG compared to neat PLA. The glass transition temperature of the MPC with 18 wt.% PETG was in the range of 63-65 degrees C in contrast to that of neat PLA (55-58 degrees C), depicting an improvement of similar to 12.07%. The morphology of the fracture surface of the MPC was studied using a high-resolution scanning electron microscope (HRSEM). The results revealed ductile failure of MPC, confirming a slight brittle-to-ductile transition of the neat PLA. The outcome of this study establishes that MPC using blended filaments of multi-polymer can be successfully fabricated, achieving better ductility and thermal transition behavior than its base materials.