Developments in 3D printing are coming thick and fast. In a relatively short amount of time, we have gone from clunky machinery capable of only printing very basic components to printers that can be used in the home by hobbyists to print anything from toys to prosthetic limbs.

 .

Material extrusion (ME) 3D printing is the technique that revolutionized the 3D printing of thermoplastic parts. However, this process is somewhat flawed—the parts printed using plastics, perhaps the most popular 3D printing material, are mechanically weak due to the imperfect bonding between individual printed layers that make up the 3D part. This leads to weak tensile strength in the build direction.

 .

Although many methods have been proposed to address this flaw, many fall short of a solution that is production-ready. In a new study published in the journal Nano Letters on February 27, Texas A&M researchers, in collaboration with scientists from […]

Click here to view original web page at www.allaboutcircuits.com