Determination of geometrical and viscoelastic properties of PLA/PHB samples made by additive manufacturing for urethral substitution

The study deals with preparation of material before 3D printing - material drying. Moisture in material affects material degradation and viscosity during printing. According to this, it is necessary to verify recommended drying parameters. Verification was performed by printing strand samples from dried and non-dried material and also by calculating and comparing respective viscosities that change in time. Printed strand clearly show that non-dried material degrades in less than 10 min, what leads to inappropriate application in short-time printing. Dried material shows significant stability and degrades slightly during selected time span. For metrological verification of material stability two sample types were designed and manufactured - a cubic sample which represents basic scaffold structures and a tubular one that serves as urethra substitution. Obtained results showed appropriate usability of selected technology and printing parameters for PLA / PHB material blend.