Performance evaluation of bamboo–PLA biocomposite filaments for sustainable additive manufacturing

Abstract The present investigation is focused on the evaluation of mechanical and tribological behaviour of PLA and bamboo–PLA specimens 3D printed using fused deposition modelling process for sustainable additive manufacturing requirements. The specimens were fabricated with infill densities of 30%, 60%, and 90% using concentric, tri-hexagon, and line patterns with layer heights of 0.1 mm, 0.2 mm, and 0.3 mm, respectively and their tensile, flexural, hardness and wear properties were evaluated. The tensile test results revealed that pure PLA specimens show higher tensile strength compared to bamboo–PLA specimens, reaching a maximum of 56 MPa at higher infill density. However, the addition of bamboo reinforcement greatly improved the stiffness, hardness and wear resistance. The flexural modulus of bamboo–PLA specimens with 90% infill density, layer height of 0.3 mm and line pattern is found to be higher than other specimens, signifying improved resistance to bending deformation due to the reinforcement of bamboo particles. Bamboo–PLA specimens showed higher hardness compared to pure PLA specimens by about 20% at lower infill density and further improvements of about 29% and 60% at medium and high infill density respectively. The specific wear rate of bamboo–PLA specimens significantly decreased compared to PLA specimens, indicating an excellent wear resistance. SEM analysis showed that the bamboo–PLA specimens undergo a failure due to matrix deformation, interfacial bonding and particle pullout. The presence of micro voids and cracks confirmed that the tensile properties is influenced by interfacial bonding, while moderately compact structure at higher infill density resulted in enhancement of stiffness, hardness and wear resistance. The study demonstrates that bamboo–PLA provide excellent stiffness, hardness and wear resistance, making them promising materials for ecofriendly and sustainable additive manufacturing applications.