Mechanical behavior of Material Extrusion Additive Manufactured components: an overview
Saveria Spiller, Filippo Berto, Nima Razavi
Abstract
Material Extrusion Additive Manufacturing (MEAM) is a technique that allows the production of parts out of metals, ceramics, or cermets in an innovative way. The components are shaped through the Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) process, which is a well-known cost-effective technique mainly used with polymers such as PLA and ABS. FDM enables a flexible and customized production, with high geometry complexity achievable and limited safety issues. The filament used in MEAM referred to as high-filled polymer, is a polymeric matrix with a high percentage of metal or ceramic powder dispersed in it. After the shaping phase, the polymer is removed from the part through the process called debinding. The ultimate result is achieved by sintering the part at a temperature sufficiently high to allow the powder particles to bond together. The sintered components’ mechanical properties were compared with the ones obtained through conventional processes. A great effort was done to study the static behavior of the parts and the relation with the printing parameters. Nevertheless, more investigations are required for a better understanding of the mechanical performance of such components. This review gathers several works about MEAM, with a particular focus on metal materials. The main aspects and issues so far disclosed about the process are covered.