Modification of the 3D printer for the processing of the high-performance thermoplastic polymers in the production process of transport system components

Abstract

Nowadays, the ability to process the high-performance thermoplastic polymers has been still the domain of the industrial 3D printers. This article describes the possibilities of the commercial 3D printer modification to achieve the required boundary conditions for the processing of the high-performance thermoplastics with adequate mechanical properties. These materials have a very high melting point, and it is inevitable to ensure this increased temperature in the entire print volume. Therefore, it was necessary to perform the numerical simulations focused mainly on the thermal load of the 3D printer construction. Consequently, the simulation results were experimentally verified, and the optimal material in terms of its density and mechanical properties was selected.

Keywords

• thermoplastic polymers
• thermal analysis
• numerical simulation
• 3D printer
• high-performance