title: Mechanical properties of dense polylactic acid structures fabricated by three dimensional printing.
abstract: Polylactic acid (PLA) is a bioresorbable polymer that is used in a number of clinical situations. Complex shapes of PLA are commonly machined for bone fixation and reconstruction. Solid free from fabrication methods, such as 3D printing, can produce complex-shaped articles directly from a CAD model. This study reports on the mechanical properties of 3D-printed PLLA parts. 3D printing is a solid free-form fabrication process which produces components by ink-jet printing a binder into sequential powder layers. Test bars were fabricated from low and high molecular weight PLA powders with chloroform used as a binder. The binder printed per unit line length of the powder was varied to analyze the effects of printing conditions on mechanical and physical properties of the PLA bars. Furthermore, cold isostatic pressing was performed after printing to improve the mechanical properties of the printed bars. The maximum measured tensile strength for the low molecular weight PLLA (53 000) is 17.40 +/- 0.71 MPa and for high molecular weight PLLA (312 000) is 15.94 +/- 1.50 MPa.
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge 01239, USA.
authors.forename: R A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Giordano
authors.forename: B M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: S W
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Borland
authors.forename: L G
authors.initials: LG
authors.lastname: Cima
authors.forename: E M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Sachs
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Cima
mesh_terms: D001665:Binding Sites; D001672:Biocompatible Materials / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D004548:Elasticity; D019344:Lactic Acid / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D008970:Molecular Weight; D011091:Polyesters; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D013499:Surface Properties; D013718:Tensile Strength
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D011091:Polyesters; D011108:Polymers; D019344:Lactic Acid; C033616:poly(lactide)