FABRICATION OF 3D PRINTING FILAMENT MADE BY BLENDING POLYLACTIC ACID WITH HIGH-DENSITY POLYETHYLENE VIRGIN (PLA/HDPE) AND BLENDING POLYLACTIC ACID WITH HIGH-DENSITY POLYETHYLENE RECYCLE (PLA/RHDPE)

• Main Author: Mukhtarin, Bharus
• Format: Final Project
• Language: Indonesia
• Subjects: Teknik (Rekayasa, enjinering dan kegiatan berkaitan)
• Online Access: https://digilib.itb.ac.id/gdl/view/72092
• Institution: Institut Teknologi Bandung

High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE) is a thermoplastic polymer that has good processability and mechanical properties. These advantages make HDPE a type of polymer that is often used in industry. This causes HDPE to become one of the types of plastic with the most waste. On the other hand, the development of additive fused deposition modeling (FDM) manufacturing technology, namely 3D printing, is growing rapidly so the demand for 3D printing filament raw materials is increasing. In this study, HDPE waste was recycled into a 3D printing filament by blending with polylactic acid (PLA). As a comparison, 3D printing filaments made from virgin HDPE and PLA were also made. In addition, this study also observed the effect of adding HDPE on the physical properties, printability, and morphology of the two types of filaments produced. In this research, the manufacturing of 3D printing filaments made from polymer blending PLA with virgin HDPE (PLA/HDPE) and PLA with recycled HDPE (PLA/rHDPE) are studied. With a composition of HDPE and HDPE recycled of 10, 20, 30, 40, and 50% weight percentage. Both types of filaments are made by an extrusion process at a temperature of 140?C with screw and puller speeds adjusted to produce filaments with a diameter range of 1.5-1.9 mm. In addition, density, melt flow rate (MFR), and printability tests were also carried out for both types of filaments. From the test results, it can be concluded that increasing the composition of HDPE and HDPE recycled will decrease the density and increase the MFR value of both filaments. Based on the results obtained, PLA/HDPE filaments with a composition of 30% wt HDPE and PLA/rHDPE filaments with a composition of 10% wt HDPE have the most stable diameters and the best printability and can compete with commercial filaments.