Polymers for 3-D-Printed Tools at the Point of Need

Abstract

The use of 3-D-printed tools with locally available polymers has the potential to increase efficiency and operational readiness on the battlefield. Currently, the US military has plastic 3-D-printing capabilities at the point of need, but only a limited choice of polymers. This effort summarizes the work of two Weapons and Materials Research Directorate-sponsored student projects and compares many different types of common 3-D-printable polymers to determine which one may be best suitable for the harsh conditions and austere environments associated with forward-operating bases. These polymers were subjected to mechanical and environmental testing for the purpose of characterizing and ranking. Post-fracture optical microscopy was undertaken to better understand the failure modes associated with each of the different polymers.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Nov 01, 2019
Accession Number
AD1084556

Entities

People

  • Austin Stilling
  • Erik Grendahl
  • Marc S. Pepi

Organizations

  • United States Army Research Laboratory

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Human Systems
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Additive Manufacturing
  • Dacron
  • Fabrication
  • Failure Mode And Effect Analysis
  • Flexural Properties
  • Manufacturing
  • Materials
  • Materials Processing
  • Materials Science
  • Materials Testing
  • Mechanical Properties
  • Plastics
  • Tensile Properties
  • Tensile Strength
  • Tensile Testing
  • Test Methods
  • Three Dimensional

Readers

  • Reinforced Composite Materials
  • Structural Health Monitoring of Composite Structures.
  • Systems Analysis and Design