MANUFACTURE AND CHARACTERIZATION OF POLYPROPYLENE (PP) AND POLYLACTIC ACID (PLA) WASTE BLEND FOR 3D PRINTER FILAMENT

• Main Author: Rahmat, Fauzan
• Format: Final Project
• Language: Indonesia
• Online Access: https://digilib.itb.ac.id/gdl/view/57068
• Institution: Institut Teknologi Bandung

Polypropylene (PP) is one of the most commercially used plastic commodities in the world. Other than that, Polylactic Acid (PLA) is also the most utilized polymer for filament in Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) processes. The widespread consumption of these two types of polymers can produce wastes that have the potential for environmental problems. One of the opportunities to overcome this problem is to reprocess PP and PLA wastes into 3D printer filament. In this research, recycled PLA flakes and PP pellets were blended by melt blending method. Melt Flow Rate (MFR) and tensile tests were carried out to identify flow and mechanical properties of the filament. MFR of the PP/PLA blend decreased as percentage of PP increased. In the filament manufacturing process, PP/PLA filaments at 80, 90, 100 %wt. PP can be used for 3D printing applications with a diameter range of 1.5 – 1.8 mm. These three filaments were 3D printed into objects that observed visually. Visual observation showed similar defects in each object of PP/PLA filament composition, there are warping, stringing, and skipped layers. Furthermore, tensile test samples were also prepared using the 3D printing method which were printed at raster angles of 00 and 900. The tensile test showed that the PP/PLA filament with a blending composition of 90%wt PP had the highest tensile strength at both raster angles of 00 and 900.