4D printing: processability and measurement of recovery force in shape memory polymers

The fourth dimension in 4D printing refers to the ability of materials to alter its form after they are produced, thereby providing additional functional capabilities and performance-driven applications. Stimuli materials provide this capability through the use of shape memory polymers. For this res...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of advanced manufacturing technology 2017-03, Vol.89 (5-8), p.1827-1836
Main Authors: Monzón, M. D., Paz, R., Pei, E., Ortega, F., Suárez, L. A., Ortega, Z., Alemán, M. E., Plucinski, T., Clow, N.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Actuators
Alloys
Biodegradable materials
CAE) and Design
Coils
Computer-Aided Engineering (CAD
Engineering
Extrusion
Feed rate
Industrial and Production Engineering
Mechanical Engineering
Media Management
Molding (process)
Original Article
Polymers
Polyurethane resins
Pressure molding
Recovery
Shape memory
Three dimensional printing
Urethane thermoplastic elastomers
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The fourth dimension in 4D printing refers to the ability of materials to alter its form after they are produced, thereby providing additional functional capabilities and performance-driven applications. Stimuli materials provide this capability through the use of shape memory polymers. For this research, the property of programming the determined shape is achieved through controlled heat under laboratory conditions. This paper shows the potential to process and experiment with thermoplastic polyurethane as a shape memory material. Taking a step further, we ascertain the properties of this material through extrusion-based additive manufacturing processes and produce parts for testing. The results show that the characteristics of the 3D printed parts successfully retain the property of the shape memory and the recovery force allows this to be utilised as a mechanical actuator. The recovery stress has been recorded to be between 0.45 and 0.61 MPa (at feed rate 990 mm/min). The maximum level of recovery stress is similar to the same material being processed through conventional compression moulding. Lastly, we designed and produced a coil as an actuator to demonstrate that the same material can be extended to other applications.
ISSN:0268-3768
1433-3015
DOI:10.1007/s00170-016-9233-9