Authors
Abstract
In the previous study, a biocomposite material of [HA/Bioplastic/Sericin] was developed as a printable material. The highest strength was only 3.89 MPa which was achieved by the composite with 60/40 ratio of HA/Bioplastic and additional sericin of 0.3%w/w of HA. The present of sericin within the biocomposite could improve cell attachment. However, since cassava starch based bioplastic as a matrix was degraded in PBF, the dimensional accuracy could not be maintained. In the present study, the matrix of bioplastic was replaced by PMMA with various P/L ratios of 2/1.8, 2/1.185 and 2/1.9. A series test was carried out to investigate the printable characteristic in 3D printer with an optimum printing parameter such as curing time window, flow rate through a nozzle, tensile strength of the printed sample, microstructure and x-ray diffraction. Response Surface Method (RSM) was employed to optimize the printing process parameter of the 3D-Bioprinter, predict the tensile strength of the sample and it was validated by experiment. The flow rate of pasta was 78.5mm 3 /s, the highest predicted tensile strength was 6.01 MPa and experiment was 5.12 MPa. This lower strength might be caused by the existence of porosity as conformed by SEM, while hydroxyapatite still exist as indicated by the XRD.
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