JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #99 - September 2015 - 59

3D printing

A fully biodegradable flax fibre-reinforced
thermoplastic filament for 3D printing
Texilis' R&D team and ComposiTIC researchers developed a flax
fibre/polylactic acid (PLA) composite material filament for 3D
printing. Metylos designers then created and manufactured objects to demonstrate the new filament's quality and suitability
for producing parts with a unique visual aspect and mechanical
performance.

A

dditive manufacturing technologies are on the way to transforming
the way products are designed
and produced. Thermoplastic 3D printing
has evolved from rapid prototyping to a
full-fledged manufacturing process. The
evolution of technology is now moving
towards the printing of fully functional
parts. Composites reinforced with natural
fibres have been the subject of numerous
studies over the past two decades. These
sustainable materials show interesting
mechanical properties. The number of
biocomposite applications is growing in a
broad range of sectors, such as transportation, building, leisure and more (see JEC
Composites Magazine No.97). In the case
of 3D printing, filaments reinforced with
materials like wood, copper or bronze
have rapidly emerged on the market over
the past few years, offering the possibility to design parts with a unique look.
ComposiTIC, Texilis and Metylos took
advantage of the properties of flax fibre

By

arnaud baude,
PresidenT, Texilis sas
rOmain bevan,
researCh enGineer, Phd, COmPOsiTiC
Yves-marie COrre,
researCh enGineer, Phd, COmPOsiTiC
Kevin henrY,
researCh assisTanT, COmPOsiTiC
GreGOire rOCh,
manaGer, meTYlOs
CYril rOCh,
manaGer, hexaCOrde

and PLA to create a new 3D printing filament. By choosing flax, they were able not
only to enhance the mechanical properties
of the materials, but also to add an aesthetic focus to allow the manufacturing of
lightweight and visually appealing parts.

fibres. ComposiTIC's specific extrusion
line for the 3D printing filament and fleet
of 3D printers were used to validate the
processing and printability of this type of
new composite filament.

Origin of the new material

They faced a number of challenges during the filament development process.
Texilis developed a specific grade of

The creation of this new material was
made possible by Metylos' design skills
and the close relationship between
ComposiTIC and Texilis. Metylos was
interested in using natural fibre-reinforced
materials for its new designs to create
unique customized objects with end-oflife biodegradability. A major requirement
was a low tooling cost with the potential
for small-series production.

Challenges

Formulation process
Using its expertise in flax fibre-based
materials, Texilis helped develop the optimum flax specifications for the project's
3D printing objective, while ComposiTIC
applied its experience in polymer formulation to define an optimized composite
based on polylactide (PLA) and short flax

Fig. 1: Manufacturing the filament on ComposiTIC's
extrusion line

No99 September 2015 / jec

composites magazine 59



Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #99 - September 2015

Cover
Edito
Point of view: The future of mass production
Contents
Companies & Business
In brief
Interview UCI - “Our aim is to ensure bicyclers are safe to race”
Agenda of Events
Applications
Recreational aviation - A recreational airplane as advanced as the latest widebodied aircraft
Sports & leisure - Cork, flax and green epoxy: a perfect balance for a skateboard
Medical - Lightweight emergency medical cot
Market
Natural fibres - Tending towards optimism
SPECIAL JEC FORUMS
Interview - MIT-NECST Lab: a research consortium dedicated to composites in Aeronautics
Conferences - Gain insight into the JEC 2015 Forums conferences programme
FEATURE WIND ENERGY
Wind energy - Double-digit growth continues
Design - A wind turbine without blades
Simulation - Visualizing RTM behaviour using advanced 3D CAE technology
Permeability - Optimizing fabrics for wind blade infusion
Automation - Automation strategies in rotor blade production: preforming vs. direct textile layup
Recycling - Recycling decommissioned composite wind blades
Platform - An internet aid for advances in wind turbine blade design
Research & Development
Graphene - Gambling with graphene, will it pay off ?
Thermal expansion - Boeing simulates thermal expansion in composites with expanded metal foil for lightning protection of aircraft structures
Technology & Innovations
Heating - Power transfer in complex shape heated moulds or functional composites
Manufacturing - Tension control in composites manufacturing
3D printing - A fully biodegradable flax fibre-reinforced thermoplastic filament for 3D printing
RTM/LCM - Fast production epoxies for lightweight automotive composites
Index
In the world
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #99 - September 2015 - Cover
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #99 - September 2015 - 2
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #99 - September 2015 - Edito
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #99 - September 2015 - Point of view: The future of mass production
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #99 - September 2015 - 5
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #99 - September 2015 - Contents
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #99 - September 2015 - 7
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #99 - September 2015 - In brief
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #99 - September 2015 - 9
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #99 - September 2015 - 10
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #99 - September 2015 - Agenda of Events
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #99 - September 2015 - Interview UCI - “Our aim is to ensure bicyclers are safe to race”
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #99 - September 2015 - 13
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #99 - September 2015 - Recreational aviation - A recreational airplane as advanced as the latest widebodied aircraft
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #99 - September 2015 - 15
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #99 - September 2015 - Sports & leisure - Cork, flax and green epoxy: a perfect balance for a skateboard
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #99 - September 2015 - Medical - Lightweight emergency medical cot
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #99 - September 2015 - 18
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #99 - September 2015 - Natural fibres - Tending towards optimism
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #99 - September 2015 - 20
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #99 - September 2015 - 21
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #99 - September 2015 - Interview - MIT-NECST Lab: a research consortium dedicated to composites in Aeronautics
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #99 - September 2015 - 23
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #99 - September 2015 - Conferences - Gain insight into the JEC 2015 Forums conferences programme
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #99 - September 2015 - 25
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #99 - September 2015 - Wind energy - Double-digit growth continues
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #99 - September 2015 - 27
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #99 - September 2015 - Design - A wind turbine without blades
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #99 - September 2015 - Simulation - Visualizing RTM behaviour using advanced 3D CAE technology
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #99 - September 2015 - 30
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #99 - September 2015 - 31
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #99 - September 2015 - 32
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #99 - September 2015 - Permeability - Optimizing fabrics for wind blade infusion
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #99 - September 2015 - 34
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #99 - September 2015 - Automation - Automation strategies in rotor blade production: preforming vs. direct textile layup
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #99 - September 2015 - 36
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #99 - September 2015 - 37
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #99 - September 2015 - Recycling - Recycling decommissioned composite wind blades
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #99 - September 2015 - Platform - An internet aid for advances in wind turbine blade design
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #99 - September 2015 - 40
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #99 - September 2015 - Graphene - Gambling with graphene, will it pay off ?
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #99 - September 2015 - 42
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #99 - September 2015 - 43
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #99 - September 2015 - 44
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #99 - September 2015 - Thermal expansion - Boeing simulates thermal expansion in composites with expanded metal foil for lightning protection of aircraft structures
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #99 - September 2015 - 46
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #99 - September 2015 - 47
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #99 - September 2015 - Heating - Power transfer in complex shape heated moulds or functional composites
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #99 - September 2015 - 49
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #99 - September 2015 - 50
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #99 - September 2015 - 51
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #99 - September 2015 - Manufacturing - Tension control in composites manufacturing
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #99 - September 2015 - 53
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #99 - September 2015 - 54
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #99 - September 2015 - 55
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #99 - September 2015 - 56
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #99 - September 2015 - 57
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #99 - September 2015 - 58
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #99 - September 2015 - 3D printing - A fully biodegradable flax fibre-reinforced thermoplastic filament for 3D printing
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #99 - September 2015 - 60
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #99 - September 2015 - 61
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #99 - September 2015 - RTM/LCM - Fast production epoxies for lightweight automotive composites
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #99 - September 2015 - 63
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #99 - September 2015 - 64
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #99 - September 2015 - Index
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #99 - September 2015 - In the world
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #99 - September 2015 - 67
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #99 - September 2015 - 68
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