Surface plastic flow of three-dimensional printed polylactic acid in the tribological study of surface patterned polymer

The potential of three-dimensional (3D) printing in polymer tribology is poorly explored. Material alignment and composition play vital roles in altering the friction and wear characteristics of 3D printed materials. In the current study, 3D patterns made by fused deposition modelling are used to print advanced tribo-composites. Two different surface patterns (line and circular) are provided through 3D printing using white and silver polylactic acid (PLA). The deformation and distribution of white and silver PLA over the samples surface are observed after a wear test. Results showed that the coefficient of friction is not influenced by changes in the surface pattern. However, the wear rate increased for samples with line patterns on the contact surface, since plastic flow was more significant in this case. Moreover, the filling factor exhibited an influence on increasing the plastic flow of the contact surface for samples with a line pattern.