Investigation of ABS-rice straw composite feedstock filament for FDM

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present the development of a cost-effective acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS)-rice straw (RS) composite filament for use in fused deposition modelling (FDM) and the effect of RS content on the mechanical properties of the developed filament. Design/methodology/approach RS and ABS were processed and mixed at varying fibre content (5-15 per cent). Filament using each mixture was produced using a single screw extruder. Tensile, flexural and water absorption specimens were prepared using a FDM machine. The mechanical properties were then tested following ASTM standards. Scanning electron microscope images of the specimens were also taken. Findings Tensile properties decreased as the RS content increased. However, specimens with a 0 degrees raster angle showed better tensile properties than the 45 degrees raster angle specimens, indicating that tensile properties of FDM parts are anisotropic. Flexural properties decreased as fibre content increased but increased at 15 per cent fibre content. Water absorption of the composite increased as the fibre content increased. Originality/value This paper highlights a new method of disposing of rice straw waste, by producing an ABS-RS filament for FDM. The resultant filament is cost-effective and can be used to produce cheap prototypes. This paper is the first that studies ABS-RS composites in FDM.