Chemical and Materials Engineering(CEASE PUBLICATION) Vol. 5(4), pp. 83 - 96
DOI: 10.13189/cme.2017.050402
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3D - Material Extrusion - Printing with Biopolymers: A Review

Josef Valentin Ecker ^1,*, Milan Kracalik ², Sabine Hild ², Andreas Haider ^1
1 Kompetenzzentrum Holz GmbH, Science Park 2, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Altenbergerstrasse 69, 4040 Linz, Austria
² Institute of Polymer Science, TNF Tower, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Altenbergerstrasse 69, 4040 Linz, Austria

ABSTRACT

Additive Manufacturing represents a well-known and fast growing material processing technology. Printed part is formed by adding material layer by layer until the part is finished without requiring any additional molds. Therefore, using Additive Manufacturing can save time and costs in comparison to commercial production methods particularly when manufacturing complex prototypes or small batch series. Another advantage of Additive Manufacturing is its freedom of design. This review is focused on material extrusion, a specific Additive Manufacturing technology. It begins with a short overview of the most common materials processed with this technology. Subsequently, we discuss several processes and machine parameters in material extrusion as well as their influence on the printing process and on the final properties of the printed part. Based on this knowledge, various challenges in material extrusion are also identified. These challenges must be resolved in order to improve the material extrusion process.

KEYWORDS
Additive Manufacturing, 3D Printing, Biopolymers, Rapid Prototyping, Material Extrusion

Cite This Paper in IEEE or APA Citation Styles
(a). IEEE Format:
[1] Josef Valentin Ecker , Milan Kracalik , Sabine Hild , Andreas Haider , "3D - Material Extrusion - Printing with Biopolymers: A Review," Chemical and Materials Engineering(CEASE PUBLICATION), Vol. 5, No. 4, pp. 83 - 96, 2017. DOI: 10.13189/cme.2017.050402.

(b). APA Format:
Josef Valentin Ecker , Milan Kracalik , Sabine Hild , Andreas Haider (2017). 3D - Material Extrusion - Printing with Biopolymers: A Review. Chemical and Materials Engineering(CEASE PUBLICATION), 5(4), 83 - 96. DOI: 10.13189/cme.2017.050402.