Friction Welding for Functional Prototypes of PA6 and ABS with Al Powder Reinforcement

In the present work, 3D-printed cylindrical discs of dissimilar thermoplastics [polyamide (PA6) reinforced with Al powder and acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) reinforced with Al powder] have been successfully joined by friction welding (FW) for structural applications such as joining of pavement sheets and assembly of pipe lines. The melt flow index of PA6 + Al and ABS + Al matrix was maintained in a suitable range by varying the proportions of Al in PA6 and ABS matrix. After fixing proportions of Al powder in PA6 and ABS matrix, these matrix proportions were used for preparation of feed stock filament of fused deposition modelling (FDM) filament by a twin-screw extrusion process. Finally, two FDM filaments of PA6 + Al and ABS + Al were fed into FDM machine independently. The cylindrical discs were printed on commercial FDM (one with filament of PA6 + Al and second with ABS + Al powder). These cylindrical discs of two dissimilar thermoplastic composite materials were processed on FW set-up (on central lathe machine). Finally, under the best parametric conditions of feed, rpm, etc., these polymer matrixes were successfully joined. This study provides a response surface methodology-based mathematical model for enhancing the weldability of dissimilar thermoplastic composites with improved mechanical/morphological properties.