Abstract

Additive manufacturing provides a broad range of applications and offers significant advantages over conventional molding methods. One of the advantages with additive manufacturing is its high efficiency of feedstock utilization. Although, the most common polymer and metallic composites feedstocks used within additive manufacturing are normally obtained from inefficient, and non-sustainable sources. This contribution explores the 3D printability of a new material based on silicone and hemp fibers from renewable, sustainable and non-petroleum resources with the aim of enhancing mechanical properties of silicone.


To improve composites printing technology, it's required to discover the desired mixing composition. At first, to determine the proper amount of fibers, samples were fabricated by molding. Incorporation of fibers improved the mechanical properties of the silicone matrix. However, fibers distribution within the matrix adversely affected the printability of silicone due to the resulting high viscosity. Therefore, behavior of the new manufactured material with varying fiber and solvent composition was analyzed using rheological study to obtain a printable material. The composition containing 15 (wt\%) hemp fibers and 20 (wt\%) solvent with enhanced mechanical properties displayed desirable printability. Moreover, the mechanical properties of the 3D printed and molded samples were studied. The results revealed that 3D printed samples outperformed the molded counterparts in tensile strength and hardness. Finally, a simple gripper and honeycomb structure were fabricated to demonstrate the application of the developed material.