Development of bio-reinforced PLA filaments using short bamboo fibers for enhanced mechanical performance in FDM 3D printing

Fused deposition modeling (FDM) is abundantly adopted in various industries due to its enormous features among the other additive manufacturing techniques. To improve the biodegradability and properties of polymer components printed by FDM process, in this study, polylactic acid reinforced with short bamboo fibers (PLASBF) at different weight percentages (i.e., 03, 06, and 09) and with coupling agents were prepared using a melt mixer; PLA composite filaments were extracted via filament extruder setup. Further, PLA composite samples were prepared by using FDM. The surface texture and chemical compounds of short bamboo fibers (SBFs) were studied by SEM, EDX and FTIR. Also, the mechanical characterization of PLA composite specimens was investigated. The result shows that, the improved surface texture and enhanced hydrophobicity of SBFs were identified as compared to untreated SBFs. Additionally, the ultimate tensile strength of PLASBF09 increased (i.e., 80.68 MPa) among the other compositions and virgin PLA as well. Also, the flexural strength of PLASBF03 is significantly improved (i.e., 128.48 MPa) as compared to other compositions and neat PLA samples. The developed new class of PLA based short bamboo filament is suggestible as a feed stock material for FDM, small scale vendors, researchers and industrial applications.