Fused Deposition Modelling Filament with Recyclate Fibre Reinforcement

The legacy of composite waste from manufacturing processes or end of life products is a growing and urgent challenge to be solved. An emerging idea is to incorporate composite recyclate in additive manufacturing. The focus of this work was to develop this capability and research the functional performance of additive manufactured parts through incorporating recyclate fibre in fused deposition modeling material. The research focused on additive manufacturing with virgin acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) and recyclate fibre reinforced ABS. The effect on tensile strength for different fibres (recycled by pyrolysis and mechanical process) was evaluated. Tensile test result showed an improvement by 43%, 49% and 69% when ABS was reinforced with mechanically recycled fibre, Pyrolysis recycled fibre and virgin carbon fibre respectively. The work identified the key potential for additive manufacturing to utilize recyclate and functional benefits as well as the areas for further scientific research. This is important for new innovations for use of composite recyclate to improve the functionality of additively manufactured parts.