A Novel Low-Temperature Extrusion Method for the Fused Filament Fabrication of Fluoroelastomer Compounds

Mookkan Periyasamy; Ronald Campbell; Joey M Mead; David O Kazmer; ShibShankar Banerjee; A A Mubasshir; Leeda A Phaen; Stiven Kodra

doi:10.3390/mi15050582

A Novel Low-Temperature Extrusion Method for the Fused Filament Fabrication of Fluoroelastomer Compounds

Micromachines (Basel). 2024 Apr 27;15(5):582. doi: 10.3390/mi15050582.

Authors

Mookkan Periyasamy¹, Ronald Campbell¹, Joey M Mead², David O Kazmer², ShibShankar Banerjee², A A Mubasshir², Leeda A Phaen², Stiven Kodra³

Affiliations

¹ Greene Tweed & Company LLC., 1684 South Broad St, P.O. Box 1307, Lansdale, PA 19946, USA.
² Department of Plastics Engineering, University of Massachusetts, Lowell, MA 01854, USA.
³ Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Massachusetts, Lowell, MA 01854, USA.

Abstract

In this work, an additive manufacturing process for extruding fully compounded thermosetting elastomers based on fluorine-containing polymer compositions is reported. Additive manufacturing printers are designed with a dry ice container to precool filaments made from curable fluoroelastomer (FKM) and perfluoroelastomer (FFKM) compounds. A support tube guides the stiffened filament towards the printer nozzle. This support tube extends near the inlet to a printer nozzle. This approach allows low-modulus, uncured rubber filaments to be printed without buckling, a phenomenon common when 3D printing low-modulus elastomers via the fused deposition modeling (FDM) process. Modeling studies using thermal analyses data from a Dynamic Mechanical Analyzer (DMA) and a Differential Scanning Calorimeter (DSC) are used to calculate the Young's modulus and buckling force, which helps us to select the appropriate applied pressure and the nozzle size for printing. Using this additive manufacturing (AM) method, the successful printing of FKM and FFKM compounds is demonstrated. This process can be used for the future manufacturing of seals or other parts from fluorine-containing polymers.

Keywords: additive manufacturing; buckling force; curable thermoset elastomer compounds; filament drive mechanism; fluoroelastomer (FKM); fused deposition modeling (FDM); modeling; perfluoroelastomer (FFKM); precooling; printing parameters; support tube; thermoset elastomer seals.

Grants and funding

Portions of this work were supported by the National Science Foundation’s Grant No. IIP # 1822147 (Industry/University Cooperative Research Center for the Science of Heterogeneous Additive Printing of 3D Materials (I/UCRC SHAP3D)). Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.