Using Recycled and Bio-Based Plastics for Additive Manufacturing

113 Pages·2017·8.96 MB·English

by  Laussen, Emelie

Using Recycled and Bio-Based
Plastics for Additive Manufacturing

A Case Study on a Low Volume Car Component
Master’s Thesis in Product Development

NICLAS BENTZEN
EMELIE LAUSSEN

Department of Industrial and Materials Science
CHALMERS UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY
Gothenburg, Sweden 2018

Using Recycled and Bio-Based Plastics for Additive
Manufacturing
A Case Study on a Low Volume Car Component

NICLAS BENTZEN
EMELIE LAUSSEN

Department of Industrial and Materials Science
Division of Product Development
CHALMERS UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY
Gothenburg, Sweden 2018
Using Recycled and Bio-Based Plastics for Additive Manufacturing
A Case Study on a Low Volume Car Component
NICLAS BENTZEN, EMELIE LAUSSEN

© NICLAS BENTZEN, EMELIE LAUSSEN, 2018.

Supervisor: Erja Olsson, Volvo Cars
Examiner: Erik Hulthén, Department of Industrial and Materials Science

Department of Industrial and Materials Science
Division of Product Development
Chalmers University of Technology
SE-412 96 Gothenburg
Telephone [phone]

Cover: Volvo car crossing the river next to the mountainside.
Printed by Chalmers Reproservice
Gothenburg, Sweden 2018

Using Recycled and Bio-Based Plastics for Additive Manufacturing
A Case Study on a Low Volume Car Component

NICLAS BENTZEN, EMELIE LAUSSEN
Department of Industrial and Materials Science
Chalmers University of Technology

Abstract
The Automotive industry is currently facing huge challenges to reduce the environmental impact
from plastics used in cars. Meanwhile, additive manufacturing (AM) is gaining increased interest
in the industry and researchers predict a continued increased implementation. Studies have shown
that AM can provide several benefits when it comes to reducing environmental impact. Until
recently, however, little focus has been put into developing new types of sustainable plastics to be
used in AM-machines.
In this thesis, 53 different types of recycled plastic and bioplastic filaments for fused deposition
modelling (FDM) machines are evaluated from a case study perspective on a car interior component.
Seven of the most suitable materials are tested with regards to mechanical and thermal properties
in a lab environment. From the tests it is evident that recycled plastic filament can perform equally
well as virgin plastics although with slightly larger variation in material properties. Among the
materials tested, a recycled ABS material called Re:Add ABS showed overall best performance.
Properties of bio-based alternatives still appears to be too poor to be realistically implementable for
printed car components.
When assessing the sustainability aspects of choosing recycled and bio-based plastics it is clear that
recycled plastic is the best alternative from an environmental perspective. The larger weight of the
bio-based material tested here resulted in a larger car fuel consumption which cancelled out the
lower impact during material production. Also, from a cost perspective, the Re:Add ABS was
comparable to the virgin ABS alternative.
In conclusion, a significant reduction in environmental impact can be achieved by choosing
recycled ABS materials. When it comes to mechanical and thermal properties the recycled material
has been showed to be almost as good as virgin alternatives which leads to several possibilities of
implementing these types of material in automotive industry.

Keywords: Sustainability, Additive Manufacturing, Fused Deposition Modelling, Recycled plastic,
Low Volume, Bioplastic, Automotive, Volvo Cars
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Acknowledgements
First and foremost, we would like to express our sincere gratitude to our brilliant lab friend Johan
Samuelsson at Volvo Cars Material Centre. Without his guidance, motivation and expertise in
material testing, the quality of our work would not have been nearly as high. To our colleagues at
Strategy and Innovation, thank you for always being willing to help and for being such an engaging
group of people making it fun to go to work each day. We would like to thank Martin Ödlund and
the rest of the AM-team at Volvo, you all contributed to this thesis with your expertise in the area.
Special thank you to Niklas Hvit at the AM centre for always helping when needed in the kindest
way possible. Also, a great thanks to Roger Sagdahl and Lars Hammar at the division of Materials
and Manufacture for supporting us with knowledge and equipment for AM. Finally, to our
supervisors Erja Olsson and Erik Hulthén, thanks for always supporting, showing interest, and
being available whenever needed.

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