The proposed standard will help maximise strength and quality of parts produced by polymer AM extrusion
ASTM International's additive manufacturing (AM) technologies committee, F42, is developing a standard to enable manufacturers to maximise the strength and quality of parts produced via polymer AM extrusion
According to Rick Cole, an ASTM member, research officer at the National Research Council of Canada (NRC), and expert in composites manufacturing, the proposed standard, WK81710, will be used to assess the inter-layer weld in shear through a test shown to produce repeatable results.
Cole said, “It has been shown that the weakest areas of polymer AM parts produced using an extrusion process are formed between layers as material is deposited, also known as the inter-layer weld. The properties of this weld have been found to be difficult to measure repeatably, for example, using tensile tests.”
The proposed standard will provide data useful to part designers, manufacturing process developers, and quality assurance personnel.
Cole said, “The good repeatability of the test in this proposed standard will allow users to fine-tune their manufacturing process, including setting printing parameters, to optimise the strength of printed parts. Quality assurance personnel should find the test useful to verify the quality of a printing process on an ongoing basis.”
This effort is directly related to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 12 on responsible consumption and production.
Cole said, “Increased use of the polymer AM extrusion process described in this proposed standard will help to eliminate the energy and materials required to manufacture tooling needed for traditional processes, such as injection molding. The polymer AM process allows for the production of complex plastic parts without the use of tooling.”
