Additive foam manufacturing

Abstract

Traditional foams manufacturing processes are used to create quickly and costeffectively high-strength and low-weight structures; lately there have been efforts to produce foams in Additive Manufacturing (AM), making it possible to produce free-form foamed structures. One of the biggest advantages of the additive foam manufacturing (AFM) technique proposed in this paper is the use of a physical blowing agent (PBA), which, as opposed to a chemical blowing agents (CBA), can be used to foam almost any thermoplastic polymer without modifying its chemical properties, resulting in a polymer life-cycle advantage, especially from the recycling point of view. The research being presented aims to investigate the effect of process parameters on the microstructure and properties of 3D printed physical foams, in terms of density, dimensions and mechanical properties.