Anti-gravitational 3D printing of polycaprolactone-bonded Nd-Fe-B based on fused deposition modeling

Generally, fused deposition modeling (FDM) 3D printing proceeds in the dependence of gravity, which restrains its application scenario. In this study, polycaprolactone (PCL) bonded Nd-Fe-B material filament for FDM process was prepared and a novel approach based on FDM was proposed to achieve anti-gravitational printing process by means of designing a magnetic platform. The effects of Nd-Fe-B content, magnetic flux density of the platform and printing angle on mechanical, magnetic and thermal properties were investigated. Results indicate that the tensile strength of the fabricated part of 60 wt% Nd-Fe-B highly filled PCL approximates the neat sample in the presence of magnetic force. Also, when loading 60 wt% Nd-Fe-B, the presence of magnetic force in the FDM process exerts a positive influence, improving 23%, 29.8% and 24.1% in tensile strength, (BH)max and thermal conductivity, respectively.