This study focused on the analysis of the mechanical properties of thin-walled specimens fabricated by fused deposition modelling (FDM). Two materials were considered, i.e., polylactide (PLA) and polylactide with carbon fiber (PLA-CF). The article describes how the specimens with different thicknesses and printing orientations were designed, printed, measured to assess their geometric and dimensional accuracy, subjected to tensile testing, and examined using scanning electron microscopy. The data provided here can be used for further research aimed at improving filament deposition and modifying the base material by combining it with different components, for example carbon fiber. The investigations revealed that the properties of thin-walled elements produced by FDM varied significantly depending on the thickness. So far, this problem has not been investigated extensively. Research by analyzing the key parameter, which is the direction of printing that is important for thin-walled models, provides a lot of new information for designers and technologists and opens the way to further extended scientific research in the field of the strength analysis of thin-walled models produced by 3D printing, which is very applicable to structure optimization in the era of the industrial revolution 4.0 and progress in the LEAN manufacturing process.

The paper presents the results of mechanical tests of models manufactured with two 3D printing technologies, FDM and CFF. Both technologies use PLA or PA-based materials reinforced with carbon fibers. The work includes both uniaxial tensile tests of the tested materials and metrological measurements of surfaces produced with two 3D printing technologies. The test results showed a significant influence of the type of technology on the strength of the models built and on the quality of the technological surface layer. After the analysis of the parameters of the primary profile, roughness and waviness, it can be clearly stated that the quality of the technological surface layer is much better for the models made with the CFF technology compared to the FDM technology. Furthermore, the tensile strength of the models manufactured of carbon fiber-enriched material is much higher for samples made with CFF technology compared to FDM.

Electrospinning is a frequently used method to prepare air and water filters. Electrospun nanofiber mats can have very small pores, allowing for filtering of even the smallest particles or molecules. In addition, their high surface-to-volume ratio allows for the integration of materials which may additionally treat the filtered material through photo-degradation, possess antimicrobial properties, etc., thus enhancing their applicability. However, the fine nanofiber mats are prone to mechanical damage. Possible solutions include reinforcement by embedding them in composites or gluing them onto layers that are more mechanically stable. In a previous study, we showed that it is generally possible to stabilize electrospun nanofiber mats by 3D printing rigid polymer layers onto them. Since this procedure is not technically easy and needs some experience to avoid delamination as well as damaging the nanofiber mat by the hot nozzle, here we report on the reversed technique (i.e., first 3D printing a rigid scaffold and subsequently electrospinning the nanofiber mat on top of it). We show that, although the adhesion between both materials is insufficient in the case of a common rigid printing polymer, nanofiber mats show strong adhesion to 3D printed scaffolds from thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU). This paves the way to a second approach of combining 3D printing and electrospinning in order to prepare mechanically stable filters with a nanofibrous surface.

Adding three-dimensional printed objects on existing surfaces enables creation of multi-material objects with tailored mechanical properties. Especially, the tensile strength of a textile fabric is advantageous in comparison with three-dimensional printed polymeric parts, while the latter can increase the stiffness of the composite. The adhesion forces between both material partners, however, are crucial for the reliability of the multi-material object. While several printing and material properties have been shown to influence the adhesion previously, this article concentrates on the possible pretreatment methods for three-dimensional printing on a cotton fabric. In our experiments, we have shown that especially pretreatments which made the textile surface more hydrophobic or more hydrophilic resulted in significant modifications of the adhesion forces. In addition, the adhesion is influenced by the infill orientation, with an orientation of 90° being significantly advantageous compared to 0°. While surface roughness was also shown to depend on the infill angle, no significant differences of the tensile strength or the elongation at break were measured.

Laser technologies for fast prototyping using metal powder-based materials allow for faster production of prototype constructions actually used in the tooling industry. This paper presents the results of measurements on the surface texture of flat samples and the surface texture of a prototype of a reduced-mass lathe chuck, made with the additive technology—powder bed fusion. The paper presents an analysis of the impact of samples’ orientation on the building platform on the surface geometrical texture parameters (two-dimensional roughness profile parameters (Ra, Rz, Rv, and so on) and spatial parameters (Sa, Sz, and so on). The research results showed that the printing orientation has a very large impact on the quality of the surface texture and that it is possible to set digital models on the building platform (parallel—0° to the building platform plane), allowing for manufacturing models with low roughness parameters. This investigation is especially important for the design and 3D printing of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) models, where surface texture quality and printable resolution are still a large problem.