Mechanical properties and dynamic response of 3D printed parts in PLA/P(3HB)(4HB) blends

Abstract. Oil-based plastics can meet several technical requirements in different industrial applications at a reasonable cost, but they can cause high environmental impact. Bioderived polyesters like PLA and PHAs, are, instead, eco-friendly alternatives to reduce the environmental burden caused by conventional plastics. In this respect, dynamic response and mechanical properties of 3D printed parts made in (PLA)/Poly-3-hydroxybuutyrate-4-hydroxybutyrate(P(3HB)(4HB)) were investigated. The blends were achieved by extrusion compounding of different amount of P(3HB)(4HB) (0%, 10%, 20% and 30%) in PLA. The resulting compounds were extruded to achieve customized self-made filaments, which were reprocessed by Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF) to get the final parts. Hence, the 3D printed parts were tested to evaluate their performance, all of them showing good compromise between mechanical strength and flexibility as well as valuable dynamic response, with high potential in many fields. In particular, it has been observed that the addition of 10% of P(3HB)(4HB) is the most performing solution because it allows to obtain a 50% increase relative to the Young’s Modulus.