Effects of Fiber Orientation on the Coefficient of Thermal Expansion of Fiber-Filled Polymer Systems in Large Format Polymer Extrusion-Based Additive Manufacturing.

Large format polymer extrusion-based additive manufacturing has been studied recently due to its capacity for high throughput, customizable bead size and geometry, and ability to manufacture large parts. Samples from three fiber-filled amorphous thermoplastic materials 3D printed using a Masterprint 3X machine from Ingersoll Machine Tools were studied, along with their neat counterparts. Characterization techniques included thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and thermo-mechanical analysis (TMA).