Raster Orientation Effects on the Adhesion of iCVD-Deposited PSA Thin Films on FDM-Printed PLA

Abstract

The adhesion performance of pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) thin films on additively manufactured polymers is strongly governed by surface anisotropy induced during printing. In this study, PSA thin films based on 2-ethylhexyl acrylate (EHA) and acrylic acid (AA) were deposited by initiated chemical vapor deposition (iCVD) onto fused deposition modeling (FDM) printed PLA substrates with different raster orientations (0 degrees, 30 degrees, 60 degrees, and 90 degrees). The deposited films exhibited high optical transparency on glass, and thicknesses consistent with the targeted deposition. Adhesion performance was evaluated using tensile and three-point bending tests, revealing a strong dependence on raster orientation. The 0 degrees raster orientation yielded the highest shear adhesion strengths, reaching 12.03 N/cm2 under tensile loading and 4.59 N/cm2 under bending, along with the largest failure displacements. In contrast, specimens printed at 90 degrees exhibited an approximately 47% reduction in tensile shear adhesion strength and limited deformation prior to failure. SEM analysis showed that raster alignment parallel to the loading direction promoted extensive adhesive deformation and PSA fibrillation, whereas higher raster angles resulted in predominantly interfacial debonding. These results demonstrate that raster orientation is a critical design parameter for tuning PSA adhesion on FDM-printed PLA substrates without modifying adhesive chemistry.