Investigation into the effects of varying percent concentrations of ethyl acetate on the rate of dissolving polylactic acid

3-D printing is the process of turning a computer-generated model into a physical object. 3-D printers melt polymers. Mechanical nozzles extrude this melted polymer layer-by-layer from the base to create physical models. This has many applications in medicine; doctors use 3-D printed parts to create accurate medical devices to match each patient's unique anatomy, for example.Due to 3-D printing’s vertical method, a 3D printer must print out additional supports to hold up models during their fabrication. A common material for the creation of these supports is Poly-Lactic Acid (PLA). Once the model is fabricated, these supports must be removed. This is done by hand with a pair of clippers. When models are delicate and complex, this process can be damaging. Thus, a way to remove these supports without damaging the models is needed.On an industrial scale, ethyl acetate at 100% concentrations is used to dissolve PLA. Ethyl Acetate is incredibly flammable, vaporous, and combustible. 100% concentrations of it are too dangerous to use in uncontrolled environments. It is necessary to find lower percentage concentrations that are safer, yet still effective at dissolving PLA. This paper examined the effectiveness of varying percent concentrations of ethyl acetate on polylactic acid.