The Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF) method is an additive technology that is used for the creation of prototypes within Rapid Prototyping (RP) as well as for the creation of final components in piece or small-series production. The possibility of using FFF technology in the creation of final products requires knowledge of the properties of the material and, at the same time, how these properties change due to degradation effects. In this study, the mechanical properties of the selected materials (PLA, PETG, ABS, and ASA) were tested in their non-degenerate state and after exposure of the samples to the selected degradation factors. For the analysis, which was carried out by the tensile test and the Shore D hardness test, samples of normalized shape were prepared. The effects of UV radiation, high temperature environments, high humidity environments, temperature cycles, and exposure to weather conditions were monitored. The parameters obtained from the tests (tensile strength and Shore D hardness) were statistically evaluated, and the influence of degradation factors on the properties of individual materials was assessed. The results showed that even between individual manufacturers of the same filament there are differences, both in the mechanical properties and in the behavior of the material after exposure to degradation effects.

The paper focuses on an analysis of materials produced by modern classic additive method direct metal laser sintering (i.e. powder metallurgy). Direct metal laser sintering belongs to file of additive technologies of rapid prototyping. Rapid prototyping technology is a progressive group of methods used for fast creating of models, prototypes and components directly from 3D data. According to a used technology photopolymers, thermoplastics, specially modified paper or metal powders are used in rapid prototyping machines. Nowadays those production machines creates not only models and prototypes, but they are used to manufacture tools, forms and components for small series production.The purpose of the theoretical part is to gain in depth understanding of exactly what is the principle of direct metal laser sintering and what are properties of explored materials. The practical part analyses structures of materials used by classic and powder metallurgy. It concentrates on samples preparation, their analysis (using light and electron microscopy) and testing. Samples are analysed by mechanical tensile test and Vickers hardness test. The paper also compares sintered samples with steel equivalents produced by classic metallurgy giving final recommendation

The presented article deals with the determination of selected mechanical properties of additive ma-terials used for 3D printing (PETG, PLA, ABS, ABS +, PLA ESD, ASA, PC / ABS). Due to the fact that 3D printing has exploded over recent years a...

This paper deals with the study of high-strength M300 maraging steel produced using the selective laser melting method. Heat treatment consists of solution annealing and subsequent aging; the influence of the selected aging temperatures on the final mechanical properties—microhardness and compressive yield strength—and the structure of the maraging steel are described in detail. The microstructure of the samples is examined using optical and electron microscopy. The compressive test results show that the compressive yield strength increased after heat treatment up to a treatment temperature of 480 °C and then gradually decreased. The sample aged at 480 °C also exhibited the highest observed microhardness of 562 HV. The structure of this sample changed from the original melt pools to a relatively fine-grained structure with a high fraction of high-angle grain boundaries (72%).

Within the herein presented research, we studied the applicability of flax fabrics for composite parts in personal watercrafts in order to enhance damping of vibrations from the engine and noise reduction (which is relatively high for contemporary carbon constructions). Since the composite parts are intended to be exposed to humid environments requiring high levels of mechanical properties, a carbon–flax composite was selected. Samples of carbon, fiberglass, flax, and hybrid carbon–flax twill and biax fabrics were subjected to tensile and three-point bending tests. The mechanical properties were also tested after exposure of the samples to a humid environment. Damping was assessed by vibration and noise measurements directly on the complete float for samples as well as real parts. The hybrid carbon–flax material exhibited lower values of tensile strength than the carbon material (760 MPa compared to 463 MPa), but, at the same time, significantly higher than the other tested materials, or flax itself (115 MPa for a twill fabric). A similar trend in the results was observed for the three-point bending tests. Vibration tests and noise measurements showed reductions in vibration amplitude and frequency when using the carbon–flax hybrid material; the frequency response function for the watercraft part assembled from the hybrid material was 50% lower than for that made of carbon. Testing of samples located in a humid environment showed the necessity of surface treatment to prevent moisture absorption (mechanical properties were reduced at minimum by 28%). The tests confirmed that the hybrid material is satisfactory in terms of strength and its contribution to noise and vibration damping.