- The use of bioplastics for 3D printing is becoming increasingly common practice in many industrial sectors. This technique has revolutionised how products are designed, created and shipped. In fact, according to Industry Today, the global market for 3D printing products and services is expected to grow by 195% from 2020 to 2026, reaching a turnover of $37.2 billion. ADBioplastics’ PLA-Premium bioplastic has enhanced properties that make it ideal for this process.
PLA is one of the most widely used materials in 3D printing. PLA filament is more environmentally friendly than the one made of traditional plastics, although one of the main disadvantages of virgin PLA is its brittleness and lower impact resistance of the material.
However, the PLA-Premium bioplastic manufactured by ADBioplastics from our PriXbio family of grades, made by natural sources such as corn or sugar cane, is compostable and bio-based and has improved characteristics over virgin PLA, such as, among others, up to 70% improvement in elongation at break (mechanical properties), achieving a less brittle and more elastic version of PLA, improved processability and improved barrier properties.
When it comes to 3D printing, our PriXbio family of grades is very suitable for this process, both for the manufacturing of the filament and for the printing process itself. In the following, we will take a closer look at its advantages.
Advantages in 3D printing
Filament production:
The production of PLA-Premium filament is carried out by means of a filament extrusion process. During this process we have advantages that provide added value to the customer compared to other plastic filaments or virgin PLA filament itself. Among the advantages are the elimination of pre-drying, the increase in productivity by up to 25%, excellent compatibility and homogenisation of pigments and excellent processability with inorganic solids or organic compounds such as carbonates, carbon fibre or wood, among others.
3D printing process:
During the 3D printing process, PLA-Premium has unique characteristics that allow it to be a very suitable material for this process and to obtain more satisfactory results than other plastics, including virgin PLA. Its advantages in this process include a lower melting temperature than other plastics (between 170ºC and 190ºC), high filament quality, optional print bed temperature, elimination of nozzle clogging compared to virgin PLA or other fossil-based thermoplastics, absence of fumes, guaranteed layer adhesion, toughness similar to that obtained with PA6, high resistance to deformation and higher surface quality than other plastics.
The manufacture of technical filaments can be destined to sectors such as: aerospace, automotive or construction, among the main ones. In addition, the manufactured material is suitable for food consumption according to the European legislation on food contact materials (FCM).
Now that you know the possibilities of our material, would you like to try a customised solution? Find it by contacting us here.