A comparative effort on the influence of liquid treatment media type, fiber addition, and deformation load on the wear performance of additively manufactured Polyamide 6 and Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene composites

Abstract Over the last few years, the amount of technical work concentrating on 3D printing has elevated notably to enlighten crucial topics like physical, chemical, and mechanical features. As opposed to widespread inclinations and for the first time in the literature, this paper aims to scrutinize the merged influence of liquid treatment media type, presence of reinforcement, and deformation load on the wear properties of additively manufactured PA6 and acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS)‐based parts in a comparative manner. As reinforcement material, carbon fibers were utilized, and all specimens were produced by the fused filament fabrication. Some of the samples were subjected to distilled and NaCl solution treatments after the primary printing, and failure analyses were performed using a scanning electron microscope to examine the nature of deformation. From the results, it can be propounded that liquid treatment applications entailed weight gain in the specimens, and fiber‐added parts usually showed higher liquid absorption responses than the pure versions. At the same friction test conditions, PA6 and PA6‐CF samples generally represented better abrasion performance than ABS‐originated parts. In addition, at upper load levels, fiber modification could be seen as advantageous for ABS specimens treated in NaCl solution. PA6 and PA6‐CF parts were not proper to be used in a salty water environment, and escalating deformation loads resulted in extra weight loss. Highlights Comparative wear performance was conducted for 3D‐printed ABS and PA6 composites. The highest hardness values were detected for PA6‐CF composites. PA6‐CF samples displayed superior wear endurance for all test forces. Fiber addition was advantageous for ABS samples treated in a NaCl solution. Distilled water treatment made ABS‐based parts vulnerable to excessive wear.