Electroless metallisation of ABS polymer samples produced by different technologies

ABSTRACT

In recent years, significant changes have occurred in the field of three-dimensional printing (3D-printing) and it has been applied both in the production of prototypes and in regular production in the following sectors: architecture, construction, automotive, aircraft, biotechnology, fashion, etc. Different technologies for 3D-printing are proposed. Between them, the technology FDM (Fused Deposition Modelling) has the greatest application in the industry due to the low cost and simplified operations. This technology is suitable for 3D-printing of various polymers (PET, ABS, PLA, PETG, etc.), which after preliminary treatment can be metallised by electroless deposition in order to obtain an even metal coating. The present paper describes investigations of some properties of nickel or copper coatings, electroless deposited from two kinds of solutions on 3D-printed and on cast under pressure ABS samples. For deposition of electroless nickel or copper coatings with good adhesion, the influence of the pre-treatment operations was also evaluated in both cases upon deposition on 3D-printed ABS samples with different resolutions (0.8 or 0.25 mm,) and on cast under pressure ABS samples. The thickness of the deposited layers was determined gravimetrically; the morphology and the elemental composition of the layers were examined by SEM or EDS, respectively; the surface roughness of the ABS samples was measured by AFM, and the adhesion of the metal layers was evaluated by a standard test with an adhesive tape (type Test-Method ASTM D 3359-83).

KEYWORDS:

• 3D printing
• polymer details
• electroless deposition
• copper layers
• nickel layers

Acknowledgements

This research has been carried out within the Project DN 19/1, ‘Metallisation of dielectric materials using innovative environmental solutions’, funded by the National Science Fund (Bulgaria). The authors acknowledge the support of the European Regional Development Fund within the OP Science and Education for Smart Growth 2014-2020, Project CoE: National Centre for Mechatronics and Clean Technologies, No. BG05M2OP001-1.001-0008.

Disclosure statement

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