Universiẗat, Diss., 2000--Freiburg (Breisgau).

Universiẗat, Diss., 2001--Freiburg (Breisgau).

Additive manufacturing methods has been prevailing for several decades and the recent technological advancements brings in the flexibility and consideration for large-scale production in the industries. The components manufactured with these methods have wide variety of applications and therefore, it is crucial to investigate the mechanical performance of the printed parts. There have been many researches done to investigate the mechanical behaviour of polymer material but the studies are limited when it comes to the fatigue performance of the polymer parts printed using multi-jet fusion technology. The aim of the master thesis is to investigate the fatigue behaviour of polyamide12 (PA12) material with the components manufactured using HP’s multi-jet fusion 3D printing machine. Fatigue life is influenced by several factors such as the loading condition, the topology of the specimen, material properties, print quality and the environmental conditions. It is therefore essential to consider all these factors when developing the experiments for fatigue life prediction. The master thesis work can be divided into three sections. The first section focuses on evaluating the mechanical properties of polyamide12. This includes the quasi-static test for determining the tensile properties of specimens with the geometrical influence, the difference in properties in relation to the print directions, the influence of humidity and porosity over the mechanical performance of the material and finally the effect of internal heat generation and the surrounding temperature. The results show that the temperature and the quality of the specimens are the two major factors affecting the mechanical and fatigue performance of PA12. That being said, the next section focuses on setting up the fatigue experiments based on the data obtained from the static tests. When carrying out the experiment, both the test frequency and the surrounding temperature were foundto have a greater impact over the fatigue results. High test frequency showed a dramatic increase in the temperature of the specimen which caused an early failure. Hence, the experiments were developed in such a way that the influence of the thermal fatigue can be ignored by controlling the temperature of the specimen through a compressed air cooling system. The final section presents the findings, the conclusions about the material behaviour and the development of a finite element model to predict the fatigue life of a topology optimised demonstrator part using the data gathered from the experiments. / Additiva tillverkningsmetoder har använts i flera decennier och de senaste tekniska framstegen möjliggör flexibilitet och storskaliga produktionsprocesser. Komponenter tillverkade med dessa metoder har många olika tillämpningar inom industrin och därför är det avgörande att undersöka de tillverkade materialens mekaniska prestanda. Det har gjorts många undersökningar av det mekaniska beteendet hosmaterial som metaller och polymerer, men studierna är begränsade när det gäller utmattnings prestandan hos detaljer som tillverkats med multi-jet fusionsteknik.  Syftet med examensarbetet är att undersöka utmattnings beteendet hos polyamid-12 (PA12) tillverkat med hjälp av HP multi-jet fusion 3D-utskriftsteknik. Utmattnings livslängden påverkas av flera parametrar såsom belastnings tillståndet, provets topologi, materialegenskaper, utskrifts kvalitet och miljöförhållanden. Det är därför viktigt att ta hänsyn till alla dessa faktorer när man utvecklar experimenten för utmattnings karakterisering. Examensarbetet kan delas in i tre avsnitt. Det första avsnittet fokuserar på att utvärdera de mekaniska egenskaperna hos PA12. Detta inkluderar kvasi statisk provning för att bestämma drag egenskaperna hos prover med olika geometrier, skillnaden i egenskaper i förhållande till utskrifts riktningarna, inverkan av fukt och porositet på materialets mekaniska prestanda och slutligen effekten av yttre temperatur. Resultaten visar att temperaturen och kvaliteten på proverna är de faktorer som har störst inverkan på den mekaniska prestandan hos PA12. Med detta som utgångspunkt fokuserar nästa avsnitt på att sätta upp utmattnings experimenten baserat på data som erhållits från de statiska testerna. Under utformningen av experimenten visade sig test frekvensen och den omgivande temperaturen ha en stor inverkan på utmattnings resultaten. Hög test frekvens bidrog till en dramatisk ökning av temperaturen hos provet vilket resulterade i tidigt brott. Experimenten utformades därför på ett sätt så att termisk inverkan kan undvikas, genom att kontrollera provets yttre temperatur med ett trycklufts kylsystem. Det sista avsnittet presenterar resultaten, slutsatser om materialets beteende och utvecklingen av en finita element modell för att förutsäga utmattnings livslängden för en topologioptimerad demonstratören med hjälp av data som samlats in från experimenten.

Objectives. Polyamide-12 (PA) is a flexible material suited for denture bases and clasping. This study investigated its potential aging effects with a focus on surface roughness, color stability, and elasticity. Methods. PA specimens (Valplast) of 40 × 10 × 2mm and equally measuring PMMA specimens (Palapress) as control were fabricated. Color changes after storage in air, water, coffee, and red wine (n = 10) were measured using the CIE L*a*b color specification. Elasticity after thermocycling (1000, 3000, and 7000 cycles, n = 15) was measured by three-point bending testing. Mean surface roughness (Ra) was determined after storage in the liquids mentioned above and thermocycling (n = 10). Results. Tukey’s HSD test (P < 0.05) revealed statistically significant color changes of PA in red wine (ΔE = 4.27 after 12 days, EΔE = 6.90 after 12 days) and coffee (ΔE = 3.93 after 36 days) but no color changes in PMMA. Elastic modulus of PA was 845MPa and not affected by thermocycling (Tukey’s HSD test, P > 0.81). Dry specimens showed significantly decreased elasticity (P < 0.001). Mean surface roughness (PA 0.20 μm, PMMA 0.28 μm) did not change significantly after thermocycling or storage (Mann-Whitney U-test, 0.16 < P < 0.65). Significance. PA exhibited a higher susceptibility to discoloration than PMMA. Neither surface roughness nor elasticity of PA was altered by artificial aging.

Additive manufacturing has increased in popularity in recent years partly due to the possibilities of producing complex geometries in a rapid manner. Selective laser sintering (SLS) is a type of additive manufacturing technique that utilizes polymer powder and a layer-by-layer technique to build up the desired geometry. The main drawbacks with this technique are related to the reproducibility, mechanical performance and the poor surface finish of printed parts. Surface roughness increase the risk of bacterial adhesion and biofilm formation, which is unbeneficial for parts to be used in the healthcare industry. This thesis investigated the possibility in reducing the surface roughness of SLS printed polyamide 12 with the fully automated post-processing technology PostPro3D. The postprocessing relies on chemical post-processing for smoothening of the parts’ surface. PostPro3D utilizes vaporized solvent which condenses on the printed parts causing the surface to reflow. By this roughness, in terms of unmolten particles, is dissolved and surface pores are sealed. The influence of alternating post-processing parameters; pressure, temperature, time and solvent volume was evaluated with a Design of Experiments (DoE). The roughness reduction was quantified with monitoring the arithmetic mean average roughness (Ra), the ten-point height roughness (Rz) and the average waviness (Wa) using a stylus profilometer and confocal laser scanning microscope (CLSM). The effect of post-processing on mechanical properties was evaluated with tensile testing and the effect on microstructure by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). A comparison was made between post-processed samples and a non-postprocessed reference, as well as between samples post-processed with different degree of aggressivity, with regards to the roughness values, mechanical properties and the microstructure. Results indicated that solvent volume and time had the largest effect in reducing the roughness parameters Ra and Rz, while time had the largest influence in increasing the elongation at break, tensile strength at break and toughness. The post-processing’s effect on waviness and Young’s modulus was less evident. SEM established that complete dissolution of powder particles was not achieved for the tested parameter ranges, but a clear improvement of the surface was observed for all different post-processing conditions, as compared to a non-post-processed specimen. The reduction in roughness by increased solvent volume and time was thought to be due to increased condensation of solvent droplets on the SLS-parts. The increase in mechanical properties was likely related to elimination of crack initiation points at the surface. In general, the mechanical properties experienced a wide spread in the results, this was concluded to be related to differences in intrinsic properties of the printed parts, and highlighted the problems with reproducibility related to the SLS. An optimal roughness of Ra less than 1 µm was not obtained for the tested post-processing conditions, and further parameter optimization is required. / Möjligheten att tillverka komplexa geometrier på ett snabbt sätt, har fått additiv tillverkning att öka i popularitet. Selective laser sintering (SLS) är en typ av additiv tillverkning där polymer pulver sintras samman succesivt lager för lager. Dessa lager bygger tillsammans upp den önskade geometrin. De största nackdelarna med SLS är att de tillverkade delarna har bristande mekaniska egenskaper, har brister i reproducerbarheten samt att ytan har en dålig kvalitet, den är ojämn. Ytojämnheten ökar risken för att bakterier fastnar och ett en biofilm bildas. Då produkten ska användas inom sjukvården, är det viktigt att biofilm bildning undviks. Den här uppsatsen har undersökt möjligheterna att reducera ytojämnheten av SLS-printad polyamid 12 med hjälp av kemisk efterbehandling i PostPro3D. Denna maskin är helt automatisk och åstadkommer ytbehandling genom att förånga lösningsmedel som sedan kondenserar på det SLS-printade materialet. Ytan på materialet löses upp vilket minskar ytojämnheter i form av pulver partiklar samt sluter porer på ytan. Genom att ändra på parametrarna för efterbehandlingen kan graden av aggressivitet påverkas, detta gäller tryck, temperatur, tid och lösningsmedels volym. De optimala parametrarna för att åstadkomma en jämn yta utvärderades med en Design of Experiments (DoE). Reducering av ytojämnhet mättes med hjälp av aritmetisk genomsnittlig ojämnhet (Ra), tio-punkts höjd ojämnhet (Rz) och medel-vågighet (Wa), med nålprofilometer och konfokal mikroskop. Efterbehandlingens påverkan på de mekaniska egenskaperna utvärderades i ett dragprov, medan mikrostrukturen undersöktes med svepelektronmikroskop (SEM). Ytjämnheten, de mekaniska egenskaperna och mikrostrukturen jämfördes mellan icke behandlade prover och ytbehandlade prover, med varierad grad av aggressivitet. Resultaten indikerade att tid och volym hade störst effekt på Ra och Rz, medan tid hade störst positiv inverkan på töjning, styrka och seghet. Effekten på styvheten (E-modulen) och vågigheten (Wa) var mindre uppenbar, och någon tydlig påverkan kunde inte observeras. SEM-analys visade att fullständig upplösning av partiklar på ytan inte sker för de testade behandlingarna, men en tydlig förbättring kunde ses vid jämförelse av ett obehandlat prov och ett behandlat prov. Den ökade ytjämnheten för längre tid och högre volym tros bero på en ökad kondensering av lösningsmedel på ytan under efterbehandlingen. Ökningen i mekaniska egenskaperna är troligtvis relaterade till eliminering av kritiska defekter på ytan. Generellt visade de mekaniska egenskaper en stor spridning i resultaten, detta tros bero på inneboende egenskaper i provstavarna. Denna slutsats understryker den bristande reproducerbarheten för SLS-printning. En optimal ytjämnhet antas vara ett Ra värde under 1 µm, denna ytjämnhet har inte uppnåtts med de testade efterbehandlingsparameter värdena, därför krävs ytterligare parameter optimering för att nå optimal efterbehandling.

Objectives. Polyamide-12 (PA) is a flexible material suited for denture bases and clasping. This study investigated its potential aging effects with a focus on surface roughness, color stability, and elasticity. Methods. PA specimens (Valplast) of 40 × 10 × 2mm and equally measuring PMMA specimens (Palapress) as control were fabricated. Color changes after storage in air, water, coffee, and red wine (n = 10) were measured using the CIE L*a*b color specification. Elasticity after thermocycling (1000, 3000, and 7000 cycles, n = 15) was measured by three-point bending testing. Mean surface roughness (Ra) was determined after storage in the liquids mentioned above and thermocycling (n = 10). Results. Tukey’s HSD test (P < 0.05) revealed statistically significant color changes of PA in red wine (ΔE = 4.27 after 12 days, EΔE = 6.90 after 12 days) and coffee (ΔE = 3.93 after 36 days) but no color changes in PMMA. Elastic modulus of PA was 845MPa and not affected by thermocycling (Tukey’s HSD test, P > 0.81). Dry specimens showed significantly decreased elasticity (P < 0.001). Mean surface roughness (PA 0.20 μm, PMMA 0.28 μm) did not change significantly after thermocycling or storage (Mann-Whitney U-test, 0.16 < P < 0.65). Significance. PA exhibited a higher susceptibility to discoloration than PMMA. Neither surface roughness nor elasticity of PA was altered by artificial aging.

The work deals with structrural and morphological characterization of polyamide buckles used to fasten webbins. The buckles were produced in five different years, a few of those produced in 2000 and 2004 were broken. The aime is to determine the type of polyamide and the cause of fracture of the buckles during using. The buckles were characterized in terms of structure and composition by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy in a mode of attenuated total reflaction, differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetry and X-ray diffraction. The buckles were made of polyamide 12. The broken buckles showed higher melting point, lower thermal stability and, in addition to modification it also contains modification, which is more fragile and probably represents the cause of fracture.