Why we choose this material

1.Due to the wide application of 3D printing and the rapid development of technology, we chose 3D printing materials. PLA materials are widely used in many fields, but due to poor toughness and other shortcomings, they have been improved by adding additives many times. After a simple investigation, we finally chose the PLA+ of ESON Company for research. The PLA+ material, which is composed of the PLA and calcium carbonate, has been invented and improved, and has superior properties than the PLA itself.

2.Because PLA+ not only retains the biodegradability of PLA, which meets environmental protection requirements. At the same time, the material has more excellent chemical and physical properties and has excellent development prospects. We found that adding other additives to PLA has different improvement behaviors, so our group is very interested in this material. After investigating the performance of this product, our group will continue to conduct more in-depth material learning and strive to explore new high-performance sustainability material.

What went well

1. The team completes tasks and cooperates and exchanges smoothly, and has a good communication atmosphere.


2. The process of searching for PLA+ information is smooth, and you have an deep understanding of PLA+. The content of the webpage is accurate and scientific.


3. The process of making the website is smooth, with both pictures and texts on the website, allowing commenters to come to mind and make the content more vivid.


4. The team members are active and have great interest in PLA+, and will continue to investigate new innovative materials in depth in the future.

What we learned

1. Information search ability and team cooperation  ability. 
 Our group firstly divided tasks according to members' interests and strengths.  We divided the work of PLA+ materials, including literature review, application, processing route, manufacturing, in-depth investigation in six parts of the Safety Information and Property Profile, results sharing and problem exchange once a week, so that every step of the task is carried out smoothly. In the course of  research, we browsed the papers and academic journals to actually understand the general information of the materials and tried to relate them to their applications. The survey process cultivates our literature reading ability and improves our ability to search, screen and summarize. In the process of working together to solve problems with a good group atmosphere, the team members have their own deep understanding of PLA+, and our team cooperation ability has been greatly improved.

2. Professional  skills
After deep investigation, we found that PLA+ material has strong toughness, smooth surface and other properties, which make the printing process more smooth, resulting in the characteristics of no wire drawing cracking, smooth surface, more oxidation resistance and aging resistance of the printed parts. Therefore, PLA+ materials have greater development potential and industrial market. At the same time, I have mastered the professional knowledge of PLA+ and other materials.

3.Comprehensive skills
The materials library is a necessary database for students majoring in polymer materials science and engineering. In this project, we have a basic understanding of the material library and learned how to make a website.

4. Improvement of creation and innovation awareness. 
The library not only provides basic information about materials, but also raises our awareness of new and sustainable material creation in the course of material research. In addition to adding calcium carbonate to PLA to modify performance, until now, we have found that additives such as PBS and silica have different improved behaviors. Our group will continue to study PLA+ in depth and will contribute to finding new high performance and sustainable materials. Therefore, in our further study in the future, we will continue to explore the PLA+ improvement and production methods that can get more excellent performance.