Control of 3D Printing Parameters to Design the Response of Heating Polymers

Additive manufacturing (AM) is an innovative production process that allows for designing objects with self-responsive properties exploiting the potentialities of nanotechnologies. In this context, acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) filled with multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) is printed via fusion deposition modeling (FDM) by setting two different printing directions, 0° and 90°. The investigation of the electrical properties of 3D printed parts demonstrates that the printing direction affects the pathway of electrical current flow and, consequently, the heating performance. A suitable setting of the raster angle allows the alignment of the carbon nanotubes along the printing direction. This alignment, verified through morphological investigations, strongly influences the heating properties due to the Joule effect.