Does Material Deterioration Caused by Aging Affects the Joint Between Metal Brass Insert and Plastic? Drone Arm Case Study

The most straightforward approach to installing the drone components is to use metal screws, which is why the metal brasses were put into printed drone parts using a heat-stuck procedure. Six printing combinations were used for printing the drone arm. The infill density and raster line were set to 35% and 0.3 mm, respectively. Other printing factors varied, including the wall line contour and thickness, as well as the number of top and bottom layers. The main objective was to assess the quality of the joint between plastic and metal inserts following natural and artificial aging. The pull-out force was measured using a standard pull-off tester and tensile test device after 2 hours of brass insertion, 15 days and 1 year of aging at room temperature, 28 days in a climate chamber without IC and UV light, 44 days in a climate chamber with IC and UV light, 2 minutes in liquid nitrogen, and a frost resistance test. FTIR, colorimetric and wettability analyses were used for monitoring of deterioration. Based on the experimental results the optimal 3D printing combination was selected. The samples for flexural strength were also produced using the previously mentioned printing parameters. The evaluation of stresses generated in the drone arm during exploitation was modeled. The printed arm was cantilevered and the axial force was continually applied at its end until failure. Experimental data were compared with the simulation. The results revealed that the functional joint between metal brass and plastic remained intact after aging and that PLA is a suitable material for drone arms applications with a maximum loading capability of 9.24 kg.