Electroplating on Electrically Conductive Filaments for Additive Manufacturing

Materials for additive manufacturing by material extrusion are thermoplastic polymers that can be processed by the impact of heating. Reinforcement of established base materials expands potential applications by increasing the variety of properties. Introducing electroconductivity enables the process of direct electroplating, and reduces the process steps and the use of toxic reagents. Therefore, the development of electroconductive materials is a promising research field. In this work, a composite material based on polylactic acid (PLA) is examined that allows direct electroplating by adding carbon products as electroconductive filler. In agreement with the literature, a total amount of 10 wt.% of carbon materials (graphite and carbon black) is sufficient to achieve the desired electroconductivity and still allows processing. Electroplating on the extruded filaments is enhanced by mechanical roughening and provides promising results for further investigations.