Fracture Toughness of 3D Printed Metal Wire Composites

Abstract Additive manufacturing of wire-embedded electronics is an emerging research area with significant potential. By incorporating multiple materials into a monolithic structure through additive manufacturing, the production chain for embedded electronics is simplified. While the manufacturing of embedded electronics has garnered substantial attention, there remains a knowledge gap in understanding the mechanical properties of these multi-material structures. This paper addresses the fracture toughness characterization of metal wire-embedded composites produced using material extrusion 3D printing. Metal wire embedded single leg bending (SLB) specimens were fabricated using the pause and go technique in a desktop scale 3D printer. The SLB samples were printed from polylactic acid (PLA) and Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) with 0° and 90° raster orientations. Two groups of specimens were characterized: (a) as-fabricated specimens and (b) Joule heating specimens. Specimens were loaded under the quasi-static three-point bending condition to initiate the fracture between the PLA/wire/PLA interface and ABS/wire/ABS interface. Fracture testing results showed that 0° raster orientation samples exhibited higher average toughness energy compared to the 90° orientation. This study provides valuable insights into the were embedded and reinforced part that are fabricated via additive manufacturing, demonstrating their potentials for multi-materials composite structures.