Additive manufacturing with polypropylene microfibers

Highlights - Polypropylene was successfully processed via melt electrospinning writing. - Heated collector plates were necessary to ensure adhesion of the direct-written fibers. - The optimized processing conditions resulted in well-ordered and stacked PP fibers. Abstract The additive manufacturing of small diameter polypropylene microfibers is described, achieved using a technique termed melt electrospinning writing. Sequential fiber layering, which is important for accurate three-dimensional fabrication, was achieved with the smallest fiber diameter of 16.4 ± 0.2 µm obtained. The collector speed, temperature and melt flow rate to the nozzle were optimized for quality and minimal fiber pulsing. Of particular importance to the success of this method is appropriate heating of the collector plate, so that the electrostatically drawn filament adheres during the direct-writing process. By demonstrating the direct-writing of polypropylene, new applications exploiting the favorable mechanical, stability and biocompatible properties of this polymer are envisaged.