Metal additive manufacturing based on Material Extrusion (MEX) has attracted increasing attention in recent years due to its ability to produce complex geometries while reducing manufacturing costs and material waste. In this process, a feedstock composed of metal powder and a polymer binder system is extruded through a heated nozzle and deposited layer by layer to build the final component. The rheological properties of the feedstock play a critical role in ensuring stable extrusion and achieving high-quality printed parts.
In this work, the rheological behavior of different metal-based feedstocks used in the MEX process is investigated in order to evaluate their printability. Rheological characterization is performed using a capillary rheometer and a rotational rheometer with a plate-plate geometry, allowing the viscosity of the materials to be measured over a wide range of shear rates representative of the conditions encountered during material extrusion and deposition. The results show that the studied feedstocks exhibit a non-Newtonian behavior characterized by a decrease in viscosity with increasing shear rate. This behavior facilitates material flow during extrusion while maintaining sufficient viscosity to ensure the stability of deposited filaments. The study also highlights the influence of feedstock composition on rheological properties and on the quality of printed parts. Thus, feedstocks exhibiting a balance between low viscosity at high shear rates and sufficiently high viscosity at low shear rates demonstrate the best printability, as they ensure both stable extrusion and good shape retention after deposition.
| Date | 15 Jun 2026 |
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| Original language | French |
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| Awarding Institution | - École de technologie supérieure
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| Supervisor | Vincent Demers (Supervisor) |
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Louchene, S. (Author),
Demers (Supervisor),
15 Jun 2026Student thesis: Master's thesis › Master in Engineering: Mechanical Engineering