Effect of Sodium Hydroxide and Acetone Pretreatments on the Adhesion of Three-dimensional Printed Polylactic Acid Filaments on Linen and Polyester Fabrics

http://doi:10.1177/00405175221116154

Three-dimensional (3D) printing on textile substrates is regarded as one of the most efficient methods to bond rigid polymers and soft fabrics to impart novel physical properties and extend the functionality of 3D printed objects. Although the feasibility and potential of such applications have been demonstrated, problems arise during the printing process due to the poor adhesion between the interface of the two materials. This means that usually some sort of pretreatment and/or post treatment needs to be done on the fabric, which is the focus of this paper. This study examines the effects of using sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and acetone (C₃H₆O) as pretreatments to enhance the adhesion between printed polylactic acid (PLA) polymer and woven linen/polyester fabric samples. The results indicate that both NaOH and C₃H₆O can significantly enhance the adhesive force by 49.7% and 10.2% for the linen substrate and by 95% and 17.1% for the polyester substrate, respectively. As such, this paper reports on an effective approach to enhance the adhesion of 3D printed PLA on woven linen and polyester fabrics as well as providing more options for designing on fabric surfaces.

Wearable Properties of Polylactic Acid and Thermoplastic Polyurethane Filaments 3D Printed on Polyester Fabric

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/15280837231166393

Three-dimensional (3D) printing on textile substrates is a promising method to create objects with a variety of different materials that have tailored mechanical properties. This synthesis of technology is favored by current researchers to retain the characteristics of 3D printing while maintaining the wear comfort of fabrics. Although the importance and potential of textile-based 3D printing have been recognized, it is worth noting that there is still a lack of comprehensive studies on the basic wearable properties. In this study, polylactic acid (PLA) and thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) are extruded separately onto polyester fabric. Then the wearable properties are examined through bending, compression, thermal conductivity, and thermography tests, which are carried out by using the KES-FB system and a thermal imager. The results indicate that the printed PLA on polyester fabric has a better washing resistance than the printed TPU on polyester fabric with a smaller reduction in the peel force after different washing cycles. The rate of decline of the printed TPU samples is 53.2%, which is more than twice that of the printed PLA samples (20.4%) after 30 washing cycles. In terms of the physical and thermal properties, the results show that the bending rigidity, bending hysteresis, compression energy, k values, and thermal insulation properties of the PLA and TPU samples are generally well-correlated with the number of printed layers. Further applications can be explored based on the results reported in this paper.