Processing of Melt Flow Compatible Thermoplastic Composites for Solid State Welding Applications

Twin screw extrusion (TSE) is a one of the commercially available melt processing technique which processes thermoplastic materials for preparations of thermoplastic composite material with micro or nano-sized particle for modified mechanical, thermal and morphological properties. Various studies have been reported for targeting the issues of compatibility between two dissimilar thermoplastic materials with ease of reinforcement in the thermoplastic matrix for different application areas in last 20 years. But hitherto, very fewer studies have been reported for striking the issues of compatibility between two dissimilar thermoplastic materials for solid state welding applications especially of friction/friction stir welding applications. In the present study, two dissimilarly characterized thermoplastic materials; polyamide 6 (PA6) and acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) was reinforced with aluminum (Al) metal powder for preparations of thermoplastic composite by maintaining the melt flow index (MFI). The study suggested that 50% (by weight) reinforcement in PA6 matrix and 15% reinforcement in ABS matrix has resulted in the similar MFI. Parts prepared through fused deposition modeling (FDM) were then welded by friction stir welding (FSW) to justify the melt flow compatibility of two dissimilar thermoplastic materials. (C) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.