Mechanical Analysis of 3D Printed Polyamide Composites under Different Filler Loadings

Abstract

The production of fabricated filaments for fused deposited modelling printing is critical, especially when higher loading filler (>20 wt.%) is involved. At higher loadings, printed samples tend to experience delamination, poor adhesion or even warping, causing their mechanical performance to deteriorate considerably. Hence, this study highlights the behaviour of the mechanical properties of printed polyamide-reinforced carbon fibre at a maximum of 40 wt.%, which can be improved via a post-drying process. The 20 wt.% samples also demonstrate improvements of 500% and 50% in impact strength and shear strength performance, respectively. These excellent performance levels are attributed to the maximum layup sequence during the printing process, which reduces the fibre breakage. Consequently, this enables better adhesion between layers and, ultimately, stronger samples.