3D-printed polymer packing structures: Uniformity of morphology and mechanical properties via microprocessing conditions

Three-dimensional (3D) printing is an attractive approach to fabricate highly porous extremely lightweight structures for architecture antivibrational packaging. We report 3D printing processing of model packaging structures using biodegradable poly(lactic acid) (PLA) as a source material, with acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) utilized as a common 3D printing source material as a traditional benchmarked material. The effects of printing temperature, speed, and layer morphology on the layer-by-layer 3D-printed structures and their mechanical properties were considered. Three different characteristic morphologies were identified based on printing temperature; the microscopic surface roughness was dependent on the printing speed and layer height. We demonstrate that the mechanical performances and surface properties of 3D-printed PLA structures could be improved by optimization of printing conditions. Specifically, we evaluate that these PLA-based 3D structures printed exhibited better surface qualities and enhanced mechanical performance than traditional ABS-based structures. Results showed that the PLA-based 3D structures possessed the favorable mechanical performance with 34% higher Young's modulus and 23% higher tensile strength in comparison to the ABS-based 3D structures. This study provides guidelines for achieving high-quality 3D-printed lightweight structures, including smooth surfaces and durable mechanical properties, and serves as a framework to create biodegradable 3D-printed parts for human use.