A study on the development of bamboo/PLA bio-composites for 3D printer filament

Abstract

In this study, the 3D printer filaments were manufactured by using the representative eco-friendly material, bio-composite. Bio-composites were made by incorporating biodegradable polymer of poly lactic acid (PLA) as the matrix and bamboo flour as the filler. The bamboos which were used in this experiment are Phyllostachys bambusoides, Phyllostachys nigra var. henonis, and Phyllostachys pubescen grown in Damyang district in Korea, and the mixture ratio between bamboo flour and PLA were set 10/90, 20/80, 30/70 by weight standard. Also, tensile strength of bamboo/PLA bio-composites manufactured with three kinds of bamboo were estimated and compared. In this result, the highest estimated bio-composites was Phyllostachys bambusoides flour/PLA which mixture ratio was 10/90, that is, it was the most suitable bamboo/PLA bio-composites for manufacturing 3D printer filament.