Experimental investigations on natural fiber embedded additive manufacturing-based biodegradable structures for biomedical applications

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore and investigate the mechanical as well as bacterial characteristics of chemically treated waste natural fiber inserted three-dimensional structures (NFi3DS) produced with fused filament deposition (FFD) for biomedical applications. Design/methodology/approach In this work, a novel approach has been used for developing the customized porous structures particularly for scaffold applications. Initially, raw animal fibers were collected, and thereafter, the chemical treatment has been performed for making their wise utility in biomedical structures. For this purpose, silk fiber and sheep wool fibers were used as laminations, whereas polylactic acid was used as matrix material. A low-cost desktop time additive manufacturing setup was used for making the customized and porous parts by considering type of fiber, number of laminates, infill density and raster angle as input parameters. Findings The results obtained after using design of experimental technique highlighted that output characteristics (such as dimensional accuracy, hardness, three-point bending strength and bacterial test) are influenced by input parameters, as reported in the obtained signal/noise plots and analysis of variance. Optimum level of input parameters has also been found through Taguchi L9 orthogonal array, for single parametric optimization, and teaching learning-based algorithm and particle swarm optimization, for multiple parametric optimization. Overall, the results of the studies supported the use of embedded structures for scaffold-based biomedical applications. Research limitations/implications Presently, NFi3DS were produced by using the hand-lay-based manual approach that affected the uniform insert's distribution and thickness. It is advised to use the automatic fiber placement system, synced with a three-dimensional printer, to achieve greater geometrical precision. Practical implications As both natural fibers and polymer matrix used in this work are well established for their biological properties, hence the methodology explored in this work will help the practitioners/academicians in developing highly compatible scaffold structures. Social implications The present work defines a new practice where the researchers can use natural fibers to reduce the cost associated with fabrication of customized scaffold prints. Originality/value The development of natural fiber embedded FFD-based structures is not yet explored for their feasibility in biomedical applications.