On the influence of manufacturing strategy of 3D-printed polymer substrates on cold spray deposition

PMCs are anisotropic and heterogeneous structures with excellent performances in terms of mechanical strength and stiffness, coupled with reduced weight, widely used in engineering sectors. The use of PMCs can be further extended by improving their surface properties such as electrical conductivity, erosion, radiation and lightning protection. In this context, the surface metallization seems to be best solution. In particular, the cold spray (CS) technique candidates as a potential method for the manufacturing of a metal coating on PMCs' surface. However, the design and the manufacturing methods of PMCs can play a crucial role for an effective metallization through CS. The additive manufacturing technologies for composite materials can be used to manufacture customized reinforced polymer-based panels, like PMCs; the most common method for printing them is the Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF) technique which relies on the thermal extrusion of a thermoplastic feedstock from a mobile heated nozzle. Therefore, this research activity aims to manufacture customized PMCs panels by using FFF technology for the substrate and the cold spray technique for the metallization in order to study the influence of the substrate manufacturing strategy on CS deposition process. For this purpose, three kind of 3D-printed PMCs were manufactured through the FFF technology by varying the percentage fill of the Onyx polymeric matrix and aluminum powders were sprayed on the substrates with a low-pressure cold spray (LPCS) system; both FFF and CS process parameters were varied to study the process in its wholeness. Microscope analyses were carried out to analyze the influence of the manufacturing strategy on the coating quality.