Publication:
The 3d Printability and Mechanical Properties of Polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) as Additives in Blends Polymer for 3d Printed Arm Cast

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Abstract

Additive manufacturing, widely known as three-dimensional (3D) printing is a substantial part of in Forth Industrial Revolution (IR 4.0) for the manufacturing ecosystem across a plethora of industrial sectors including electronics, automotive and medical. Within the medical industry, stereolithography (SLA) technique emerges as one of the predominant techniques due to the high-resolution capabilities which is better compared to other additive manufacturing technique. This research aims to utilize blended materials technique in the SLA process with using polyhydroxybutyrate/urethane dimethacrylate (PHB/UDMA) combination to fabricate a new 3D printed materials for medical application in particular arm cast. Viscosity plays a crucial role in the printability of the 3D printed resins. For this research, the maximum viscosity was achieved at approximately 2188 centipoise (cP) with the concentration of PHB at 11% weight ratio. Based on this composition, the tensile and impact strength were able to maintain with a minimal degradation of only 3% relative to the pure UDMA resin which is at 16% in a one month period. The inclusion of PHB is attributed to the structural integrity and stability of the 3D printed materials. Based on the clinical application standards, only 3% by weight composition of PHB failed to meet the requirements for the degree of double bond conversion (DC). These are good indications as most of the composition shows a more complete polymerization process which leads to better performance. For the crystallinity index, the inclusion of PHB contributed towards crystalline structures within UDMA based resin and make the 3D printed PHB/UDMA more prone to fracture, thus in line with the reduction of mechanical performance. Meanwhile, FESEM pictures portrayed two distinct phases region between PHB and UDMA proved the poor interfacial adhesion between the polymer blend. Based on the overall results, 7 wt. % of PHB content was selected as an optimal blending mixture composition for 3D printed arm cast due to better mechanical performance and passed the minimum standard level of DC. This research shows significant contributions in understanding the relationship between printability and mechanical properties of PHB/UDMA resins in particular for 3D printed arm cast using SLA technique.

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Matric: 3201064 (FST)

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Citation

Ahmad Adnan Abu Bakar. (2023). The 3d Printability and Mechanical Properties of Polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) as Additives in Blends Polymer for 3d Printed Arm Cast [Master’s thesis, Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia]. USIM Research Repository.

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