Recent Developments in Fused Deposition Modeling-Based 3D Printing of Polymers and Their Composites

Abstract

Fused deposition modeling (FDM) is one of the most widely used 3D printing techniques that utilizes polymers to create models, prototypes or even end products. Since 2009, the demand for FDM has been increasing at an incredible rate from one year to the next, and many experts believe that this technology has the potential to revolutionize manufacturing in many sectors. The main advantages of FDM technology are that the technique offers a simpler fabrication process and a more cost-effective method compared to other prominent 3D printing techniques, and yet, it is still capable of manufacturing complex geometries and cavities with reasonable dimensional accuracy. However, there are still some limitations and shortcomings that have been identified, especially pertaining to the lower mechanical properties exhibited in FDM parts compared to the parts produced by conventional methods such as injection and compression techniques. Therefore, this review article focused on recent developments and progress in the FDM technique in an attempt to improve the end performance of 3D-printed parts, along with current challenges and the future direction.

Keywords:

• Polymer-matrix composites (PMCs)
• Fused deposition modeling
• 3D printing
• Mechanical properties
• Continuous fibers and Processing parameters

Additional information

Funding

The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support received from Ministry of Higher Education, Malaysia through the FRGS grant 203/PBAHAN/6071337. The first author has been supported by the MyBrain15 Program under the Ministry of Higher Education. The second author would like to acknowledge the USM Fellowship for the financial support throughout the study.