Advances in Additive Manufacturing of Polymer-Fused Deposition Modeling on Textiles: From 3D Printing to Innovative 4D Printing-A Review.

Technological advances and the development of new and advanced materials allow the transition from three-dimensional (3D) printing to the innovation of four-dimensional (4D) printing. 3D printing is the process of precisely creating objects with complex shapes by depositing superimposed layers of material. Current 3D printing technology allows two or more filaments of different polymeric materials to be placed, which, together with the development of intelligent materials that change shape over time or under the action of an external stimulus, allow us to innovate and move toward an emerging area of research, innovative 4D printing technology.

Mechanical Properties of Hybrid Carbonized Plant Fibers Reinforced Bio-Based Epoxy Laminates.

In this work, henequen and ixlte plant fibers were carbonized in a horizontal quartz tube furnace. Several carbonized and non-carbonized fiber fabric configurations were impregnated with a bio-based epoxy resin through the infuseon process. The infrared spectra revealed characteristic bands of styrene instead of organic compounds, representing that the carbonization procedure was adequate to carbonize the plant fibers.

Innovation in Aircraft Cabin Interior Panels. Part II: Technical Assessment on Replacing Glass Fiber with Thermoplastic Polymers and Panels Fabricated Using Vacuum Forming Process.

The manufacturing process of the aircraft cabin interior panels is expensive and time-consuming, and the resulting panel requires rework due to damages that occurred during their fabrication. The aircraft interior panels must meet structural requirements; hence sandwich composites of a honeycomb core covered with two layers of pre-impregnated fiberglass skin are used. Flat sandwich composites are transformed into panels with complex shapes or geometries using the compression molding process, leading to advanced manufacturing challenges.

Innovation in Aircraft Cabin Interior Panels Part I: Technical Assessment on Replacing the Honeycomb with Structural Foams and Evaluation of Optimal Curing of Prepreg Fiberglass.

Sandwich composites are widely used in the manufacture of aircraft cabin interior panels for commercial aircraft, mainly due to the light weight of the composites and their high strength-to-weight ratio. Panels are used for floors, ceilings, kitchen walls, cabinets, seats, and cabin dividers. The honeycomb core of the panels is a very light structure that provides high rigidity, which is considerably increased with fiberglass face sheets.

Characterization of 3D Printing on Jute Fabrics.

This work evaluates the feasibility to manufacture polylactic acid (PLA) composites using jute fiber fabrics. For characterization, PLA-fused filament was successfully deposed onto jute fabrics to print dog-bone tensile specimens (Type I specimen from ASTM D638). The jute fabrics were chemically modified, treated with flame retardant additives, and sprayed with aerosol adhesive to improve the mechanical properties of PLA/Jute fabric composites.

Clay-Based Polymer Nanocomposites: Essential Work of Fracture.

This work details the general structure of the clays used as a reinforcement phase in polymer nanocomposites. Clays are formed by the molecular arrangement of atomic planes described through diagrams to improve their visualization. The molecular knowledge of clays can facilitate the selection of the polymer matrix and achieve a suitable process to obtain clay-based polymer nanocomposite systems.