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The aim of the current study was to evaluate the dimensional changes and ultimate tensile strength in three polyamide materials for denture bases fabrication through injection molding, subjected to artificial aging and different storage conditions. A total of 333 test specimens fabricated from Biosens (BS; Perflex, Netanya, Israel), Bre.flex 2nd edition (BF; Bredent, Senden, Germany) and ThermoSens (TS; Vertex Dental B.V., Soesterberg, The Netherlands)—n = 111 per material—were equally divided into three groups (n = 37) based on different treatments and storage conditions. Test samples allocated to the "Control group" were not artificially aged and stored in water for 24 h. Both "Treatment 1 group" and "Treatment 2 group" were subjected to thermocycling, the former dehydrated and the latter stored in water between cycle-sets. Linear changes and ultimate tensile strength were measured and analyzed for storage condition and material influence on the outcome variables. A Welch ANOVA test with Games–Howell post-hoc analysis was used to compare the influence of treatments across different materials. Significant differences were found for all three included materials with p values ranging from <0.05 to <0.001 for linear dimensional changes. The magnitude of alterations varied and was large for BS (Perflex, Israel) (ω2 = 0.62) and BF (Bredent, Germany) (ω2 = 0.47) and small but significant for TS (Vertex Dental B.V., The Netherlands) (ω2 = 0.05). However, results seem to fall into clinically acceptable range. Significant differences were also observed for the ultimate tensile strength test with the same range of p-values. All three materials showed different initial ultimate tensile strengths and varying reaction to artificial aging and storage with the lowest alterations observed for BF (Bredent, Germany) (ω2 = 0.05). Within the limitation of this study, it can be concluded that all three materials show different dimensional and mechanical properties when subjected to artificial aging and different storage. Although linear dimensions show significant changes, they seem to be clinically irrelevant, whereas the change in ultimate tensile strength after only 6-month equivalent clinical use was substantial for BS (Perflex, Israel) and TS (Vertex Dental B.V., The Netherlands). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fused filament fabrication (FFF) is one of the most popular additive manufacturing (AM) techniques used to fabricate polymeric structures. However, these polymeric structures suffer from an inherent deficiency of weak inter-laminar tensile strength. Because of this weak inter-laminar strength, these parts fail prematurely and exhibit only a fraction of the mechanical properties of those fabricated using conventional means. In this paper, we study the effect of thermal annealing in the presence of an initially applied static uniaxial load on the ultimate tensile strength of parts fabricated using FFF. Tensile specimens or dogbones were fabricated from an acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) filament with a glass transition temperature (Tg) of 105 °C; these specimens were then isothermally annealed, post manufacture, in a fixture across a given range of temperatures and static loads. Tensile testing was then performed on these specimens to gauge the effect of the thermal annealing and static loading on inter-laminar tensile strength by measuring the ultimate tensile strength of the specimens. A design of experiments (DOE) approach was followed to calculate the main and interaction effects of the two factors (temperature and static loading) on the ultimate tensile strength, and an analysis of variance was conducted. Cross-sectional images of the specimens were studied to observe the changes in the mesostructure of the specimens that led to the increase in inter-laminar strength of the parts. The results show that temperature plays a dominant role in increasing the ultimate tensile strength and an 89% increase in the average ultimate tensile strength was seen corresponding to an annealing temperature of 160 °C. A change in the mesostructure of the parts is seen, which is characterized by an increase in bond length and void coalescence. These results can be helpful in studying the structural strength of 3D printed parts, and thus could eventually guide the fabrication of components with strength comparable to those of conventional manufacturing techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]