The biggest energy and science laboratory of USA, Oak Ridge Laboratory (ORNL) carried out a very important 3D manufacturing. 3D printing an entire table, the company benefitted from bamboo fiber composite.
Researchers at ORNL are using bamboo fiber in 3D printing experiments to determine whether bio-based feedstock materials are feasible in additive manufacturing. Chopped bamboo fibers were added to a bio-polymer resin to create bamboo-based pellets, resulting in a more sustainable material that can be used for manufacturing molds, prototypes, appliances and furniture. The research team 3D printed a table that contains 10 percent bamboo fiber composite.
“We are investigating the use of different types of cellulose fibers to develop feedstock materials with better mechanical performance that can increase the number of available composites and opportunities for sustainable practices,” ORNL’s Soydan Ozcan said.
As ORNL explained, ORNL added chopped bamboo fibers to a bio-polymer resin to create bamboo-based pellets, resulting in a sustainable material that can be used for manufacturing molds, prototypes, appliances and furniture. ORNL mixed the natural material with polylactic acid (PLA) in different ratios and then testing its properties.
The scientists behind the project found that a material with 10 percent bamboo content exhibited a higher elastic modulus than ‘neat PLA’ while a material with 20 percent bamboo content produced an even higher modulus.