Antifouling performance of copper-containing fused filament fabrication (FFF) 3-D printing polymer filaments for marine applications

Abstract

3-D printing allows for rapid prototyping and manufacture of components in a cost effective and timely manner, becoming a popular technology for oceanographic and maritime engineering applications. However, 3-D printed components are at risk of accumulating marine biofouling. This study examined the antifouling (AF) performance of three Cu-containing 3-D printing polymer filaments for potential marine use. The amount of Cu present in each filament was the primary determinant of AF performance. The lowest Cu-content (30%) filament recording 29% biofouling cover after 1 month and near 100% cover after 3 months. These AF results were comparable to polylactide acid (PLA) and acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) polymer filament controls. The medium (50%) Cu-content filament remained largely free of biofouling until 3 months (where 48% coverage was observed), after which fouling cover increased to 100% by ∼12 months. The highest Cu-content (80%) filament remained free of all macrofouling for the entire 24 months of the experiment.

Keywords:

• Fused depositional modelling (FDM)
• 3-D printing polymers
• marine biofouling
• copper (Cu)
• additive manufacturing
• antifouling

Acknowledgements

The authors are extremely grateful to Rebecca Van Gelderen, Lisa Fee Moy Lee Nen That and Nathan Bott (RMIT University) for technical support related to molecular analysis of biofilms, and Mark Ciacic, Clare Grandison and Jim Dimas (Defence Science and Technology) for valuable support in field assessment activities. The authors wish to acknowledge the use of the services and facilities of BAE Systems, Williamstown.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).