The Study on Polypropylene Applied in Fused Deposition Modeling

The study puts forward the potential of polypropylene (PP) as a candidate for fused deposition modelling (FDM)based 3D printing technique. Two kinds of PP were considered as the bases of PP composites which were applied in FDM. These PPs are impact-resistant copolymer PP with different melt flow rate (MFR). The second components in the composites include plastic, rubber, fillers, etc. The shrinkage rate of PP plays an important role in the printing properties of PP filaments. PP/PC blends and PP/inorganic particles composites present relatively low shrinkage rate and warpage behavior. Rubber contributes little to the decrease of shrinkage rate. Synergistic effect of inorganic particles and organic small molecules was discovered. The mechanical properties of the printed specimens were tested compared with the injection molding specimens.