Thermal Stability studies on PLA –SS316L reinforced filaments for FDM 3D printing produced through Conical Twin Screw Method

Abstract

This study focuses on the fabrication and processability of stainless steel (SS) 316L powder-reinforced polylactic acid (PLA) composite filaments with solid loadings ranging from 2.5 wt. % to 10 wt. %, with increment of 2.5 wt. %. A conical twin-screw extruder with four distinct heating zones was employed for melt compounding, followed by water cooling and filament spooling. The extrusion process was carefully optimized to achieve a consistent filament diameter of 1.75 ± 0.05 mm, with the highest extrusion temperature set at 170^oC. Thermal stability was assessed through Thermo Gravimetric Analysis (TGA) and Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), revealing that the composite filaments remained stable up to 350^oC, with melting points in the range of 150^oC to 160^oC.