PolyJet 3D Printing of Composite Materials: Experimental and Modelling Approach

Multi-material 3D printing has created a wide range of applications because of its high-resolution and multi-functional capabilities. It is important to understand the interaction of the materials both macroscopically and microscopically. This article investigates the mechanical responses of rigid-rubbery polymeric material fabricated using the PolyJet technique as an individual constituent and as an integrated composite unit cell. A series of experiments were conducted to obtain the mechanical responses for individual VeroMagentaV (rigid) and Agilus30 (flexible) polymers with different shore-hardness levels. Tensile results show that the interface of the dual material is strong enough to withstand the stretching during the tensile experiment. The interfacial hardness and local elastic modulus in dual-material parts investigated using nano-indentation and visual inspections showed distinct transition properties. The introduction of different types of rigid reinforcement particles of the 3D-printed composite has been demonstrated and quantified. A numerical model is developed, and the results show good agreement with the compression experiments.