Impact of Chloroform Treatment on the Tensile Property of PETG and PLA Materials Fabricated Via the Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) Technique

The dawn of Additive Manufacturing (AM) technologies has brought about a paradigm shift in object fabrication. Among the various AM techniques, Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) has gained immense admiration due to its cost-effectiveness, user-friendliness, and versatile applicability. However, despite the widespread use of FDM materials such as PETG, ABS, and PLA, these materials exhibit mechanical limitations such as low tensile strength, low impact resistance, low durability, and low heat resistance. In light of this, the present investigation delves into the efficacy of post-processing treatment with chloroform to improve the tensile properties of these materials. The study involves the printing of PETG and PLA materials using an FDM printer, with a layer thickness of 0.2 mm and taking a raster angle of 45°. Subsequently, chloroform treatment is administered by applying chloroform on the printed specimens using a chemical-resistant brush and one-hour exposure, to ensure complete solvent evaporation before conducting tests. The tensile properties of the treated and untreated specimens are then compared using a universal testing machine. Moreover, the microstructure of the fractured specimens is analyzed under a scanning electron microscope (SEM) to discern the causes of failure. This study provides valuable insights into the post-processing treatment and its impact on the tensile properties of thermoplastic materials.