Design and Simulation Analysis of a Polypropylene 3D Printed Shear Screw.

A 3D printer nozzle has been designed in order to improve the degree of homogenisation of the material melt and to enhance the mixing performance of the material. Based on the principle of single-screw extrusion, it is proposed to add shear elements to the metering section of the screw appropriately, and the materials processed by the screw are selected according to the working characteristics of the screw. Taking polypropylene as the fluid research object, the finite element method is applied, combined with POLYFLOW software to simulate and analyse the extrusion process of polypropylene. The results show that the pressure field provided by the screw with shear elements is increased by approximately 0.399%, and the shear rate is increased by approximately 94% compared to a normal screw. By adding shear element, the pressure building ability of the screw can be improved, the smooth extrusion of the material can be promoted, the degree of melting and homogenization of the material can be effectively improved, and the utilization rate of the material in the printing process can be improved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]