Additive manufacturing allows for the production of complex components using various types of materials such as plastics, metals and ceramics without the need for molding tools. In the field of high-performance polymers, semi-crystalline polymers such as polyetheretherketone (PEEK) or amorphous polymers such as polyetherimide (PEI) are already successfully applied. Contrary to semi-crystalline and amorphous polymers, thermotropic liquid crystalline polymers (LCPs) do not change into an isotropic liquid during melting. Instead, they possess anisotropic properties in their liquid phase. Within the scope of this work, this special group of polymers was investigated with regard to its suitability for processing by means of fused filament fabrication. Using an LCP with a low melting temperature of around 280 °C is compared to processing an LCP that exhibits a high melting temperature around 330 °C. In doing so, it was revealed that the achievable mechanical properties strongly depend on the process parameters such as the direction of deposition, printing temperature, printing speed and layer height. At a layer height of 0.10 mm, a Young's modulus of 27.3 GPa was achieved. Moreover, by employing an annealing step after the printing process, the tensile strength could be increased up to 406 MPa at a layer height of 0.15 mm. Regarding the general suitability for FFF as well as the achieved uniaxial mechanical properties, the LCP with a low melting temperature was advantageous compared to the LCP with a high melting temperature.
Keywords: 3D printing; fused filament fabrication (FFF); liquid crystalline polymers (LCP); mechanical properties; plastics; polymers; tensile testing.