Additive manufacturing (AM), also known as three-dimensional (3D) printing, of polymer-based materials is growing as a time-efficient, economical, and environmentally sustainable technique for prototype development in load-bearing applications. This work investigates the defects arising from the processing in material extrusion-based AM of polymers and their impact on the part performance. The influence of raster angle orientation and printing speed on tribological characteristics, microstructure, and surface finish of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) fabricated in a heated build chamber was studied. Comprehensive analysis with fractography and tomography revealed the formation, distribution, and locations of internal voids, while surface defects were studied with the topography analysis of as-printed surfaces. Surface roughness and tribological results show that printing speed can be optimally increased with a minimal impact on interlayer bonding and part performance. Increased printing speed allowed up to 58% effective reduction in printing time obtaining comparable mechanical properties at varying process parameters. 3D printed ABS exhibited dry sliding friction coefficients in the range of 0.18–0.23, whilst the maximum specific wear rate was 6.2 × 10−5 mm3/Nm. Higher surface roughness and increased printing speed exhibited delayed running-in during dry sliding, while insignificant influence was observed for steady-state friction and wear behaviors. The findings indicate that improved surface finish and reduced internal defects can be achieved with a controlled build environment allowing for higher printing speed. The observations in this study are evidence that 3D printing can be adapted for the sustainable manufacturing of polymeric components for tribological applications.

This work investigates the tribological behavior of neat and carbon fiber-reinforced polyether-ether-ketone (PEEK) materials processed using the fused filament fabrication (FFF) technique. The reciprocating sliding behavior of printed polymers against stainless steel (SS) under dry and water-lubricated conditions was studied. The running-in behavior and evolution of friction were dependent on the material combination and sliding conditions. PEEK reinforced with 10 wt% carbon fibers was optimal considering tribological performance. Neat PEEK exhibited a combination of abrasive and adhesive wear mechanisms, while composites primarily showed fiber-matrix debonding and delamination during sliding. The outcome of this work has significance in improving the processing design of PEEK-based materials in extrusion-based 3D printing for tribological applications.