July’s presenter was Dr. Wang, a sustainable materials scientist who specializes in cellulose materials and biodegradable polymers. He spoke about how additive manufacturing, also known as 3D printing, is reshaping the world by reforming the way materials are manufactured. Material-Extrusion Additive Manufacturing (MEAM) is one of the 3d printing techniques that could be used for printing thermoplastics. Because of its simplicity and low-cost, MEAM receives more attention compared to other AM techniques. Polypropylene (PP) is one of the most widely used commodity thermoplastics with applications in various industries. However, common PP grade is difficult to print with MEAM because they shrink and warp significantly during printing. Wood pulp fibers are strong reinforcements for commodity thermoplastics. Additionally, incorporating pulp fibers in PP will potentially make PP more printable. In this presentation, we will learn how pulp fibers were compounded with PP-based polymers to generate MEAM-grade feedstock.
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