Three-dimensional printing with waste acrylonitrile butadiene styrene: Processing and characterization

Three-dimensional (3D) printing of waste plastic such as acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) is challenging because multiple heating cycles and irregular cooling cause accumulation of stress in 3D-printed structures, which significantly affects mesostructured and fiber-to-fiber bond strength. Hence, this study demonstrates the ability to print high-quality parts via 3D printing using ABS waste. The different weight proportions (100, 90/10, 80/20, 70/30, 60/40, 50/50) of recycled ABS (RABS)/virgin ABS (VABS) are selected for experimentation. It is found that increasing VABS content in RABS significantly improved the physical properties of samples. Due to VABS blending in RABS, the average enhancement in flexural strength (Sf), flex modulus (Ef), and work of fracture (WOF) are 11.49%, 5.45%, and 17.31%, respectively, when compared with 100% RABS samples. Similarly, the average increase in Young’s modulus (E), tensile strength at yield (Ty), and ultimate tensile strength (UTS) are 7.71%, 5.19%, and 3.51%, respectively. The samples printed with 50% RABS/50% VABS blends show superior mechanical properties than others, also the properties of 90% RABS/10% VABS and 80% RABS/20% VABS are very close to 100% VABS samples. Hence, this study provides unique opportunities for the sustainable use of waste ABS using 3D printing technology.