Enhancement of Electrically Conductive FDM Parts Adhesion Strength to Different Polymers through Atmospheric Pressure Plasma Treatment

Abstract

Multi-material 3D printing has been a hot topic among many papers and the final goal for many manufacturers and developers. However, one of the main issues holding multi-material printing back is the affinity between different materials and consequently the low strength of the resulting parts. This proceeding discusses the results of atmospheric-pressure plasma incidence on adhesion strength between different polymers commonly used in FDM applications and electrically conductive PLA. Strength test samples were manufactured with the aid of an adapted Delta printer set-up, capable of executing multiple activities in tandem with the print job. Surface free-energy analysis and strength tests were carried out for untreated and treated parts with alternating deposition orders and the results analyzed. Finally, the results were compared with observations already present in the literature and future steps for the completion of this work discussed.