Investigation of the Mechanical Properties of Composite Parts Produced Using a New Hybrid Manufacturing Technology

Abstract

The production of composites with improved mechanical properties is an area of significant importance, with the aim of reducing production times and costs. In this study, a hybrid manufacturing technology was employed by combining FDM additive manufacturing technology with a vacuum-assisted injection method. Three-dimensional (3D) parts with a 10% infill rate were printed using FDM additive manufacturing technology and PLA material. The production parameters included the use of glass fibers with lengths of 2, 3, and 4 mm as well as epoxy, polyester, and polyurethane polymer resins. Accordingly, glass fiber-reinforced polymers (GFRP) were produced with varying production parameters. The mechanical properties of the 3D printed parts produced by FDM were improved by injecting the GFRP prepared into the hollow structures of the parts. Tensile and flexural testing and scanning electron microscopy analysis were conducted on the produced parts to determine the effects of the production parameters on their mechanical properties. The epoxy GFRP composite with 3 mm fiber length was found to exhibit the highest tensile strength of 25.30 MPa and the highest bending strength of 68.53 MPa. Maximum tensile and flexural strengths were achieved by all GFRP hybrid composites at a critical fiber length of 3 mm. The experimental results indicated that the epoxy GFRP composite demonstrated superior tensile and flexural strengths compared with the polyurethane GFRP and polyester GFRP composites.