2025 Volume 64 Issue 1 Pages 263-267
In recent years, various efforts have been made to solve environmental problems. In the machinery industry, additive manufacturing has been attracting attention, and the production method using 3D printers is an environmentally friendly approach because it allows materials to be used without waste. In addition, the replacement of metal parts with resin parts is attracting attention as a substitute for industrial parts. ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene) is one of the main resin materials, and although ABS has excellent mechanical properties, it is a petroleum-derived resin, which has the disadvantage of negatively impacting the environment. For this reason, polylactic acid (PLA), a plant-derived resin, has been attracting attention. However, PLA has inferior mechanical properties compared to ABS. Therefore, the objective of this study was to develop a new material by compositing PLA with copper, which has excellent recyclability and mechanical properties. The materials were composited using a kneader to produce composite materials with different copper content. Filaments were then fabricated using the composite material. A 3D printer was used to fabricate tensile specimens.
The fabrication results showed that the maximum composite ratio of PLA and Cu was 80 mass % PLA and 20 mass % Cu. Furthermore, it was found that the area where copper powder was present increased as the copper content ratio increased. Considering the results of tensile tests, it can be assumed that the strength decreases with increasing copper content due to the increased occurrence of fracture originating from it.
