Excellent performance of hybrid model manufactured via additive manufacturing process reinforced with GFRP for sport climbing equipment

Heliyon. 2023 Mar 22;9(3):e14706. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e14706. eCollection 2023 Mar.

Abstract

The figure eight model was successfully manufactured, analyzed, and characterized in the present study. The model was manufactured via 3D printing fused deposition modelling (FDM) and then reinforced with glass fiber-reinforced polymers (GFRP). There are three different designs in figure eight that are examined, and each design is made using 3D printing FDM and coated with GFRP, a hybrid material, as shown. Specimens that have been made from each design are then evaluated by tensile test, hardness test, surface roughness test, and density test. The results showed that the hybrid figure eight lamination with polylactic acid (PLA) and GFRP material could increase the tensile strength by more than two times higher. The highest tensile strength lies in design 1 with 4977, 3 N. Moreover, the highest hardness value occurred for design two at 75.1 Shore D, and the highest average density lies in design three at 1.2 g/mm3. The study also showed that the lowest cost occurred in hybrid design three at $ 1.2 per item. Based on the present study, the GFRP reinforcement can extend the model's performance with affordable cost and retain figure eight from the failure.

Keywords: Density analysis; Figure eight; Hardness test; Roughness profile; Tensile strength.