International Journal of Applied Sciences and Smart Technologies 

Volume 4, Issue 1, pages 89–96 

p-ISSN 2655-8564, e-ISSN 2685-9432 

 

 
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License 

 

 
Shrinkage of Biocomposite Material Specimens 

[HA/Bioplastic/Serisin] Printed using a 3D 

Printer using the Taguchi Method 
 

Felix Krisna Aji Nugraha1,* 

 
1Department of Mechanical Design Technology, Sanata Dharma University,  

Yogyakarta, Indonesia 
 *Corresponding Author: felix@pmsd.ac.id 

 

(Received 15-05-2022; Revised 25-05-2022; Accepted 26-05-2022) 

 

Abstract 

The Fused Deposition Modeling in the rapid prototyping technique was 

modified using a paste-shaped material with biocomposite material. One of 

the correction factors for the printed test specimen results is shrinkage. The 

paste material used is hydroxyapatite [CA5(PO4)6(OH)2] and tapioca 

bioplastic. Besides these materials, sericin is added, which is produced from 

extracts from silkworm cocoons. The composition of the biocomposite paste 

used with the ratio of hydroxyapatite and bioplastic was 40:50, 50:50, 60:40, 

by adding 0.3% sericin to the hydroxyapatite solution. The parameters used 

in the printing process of the test specimens are the perimeter speed of 60 

mm/s, the infill speed of 10 mm/s, and the layer height of 0.45 mm. The 

design in this test has dimensions of 100mm long, 25mm wide, and 3mm 

thick. The optimal shrinkage of the test specimens was analyzed using the 

Taguchi method. Specimen printing is done by using additive manufacturing 

method. The process is carried out using a Portabee three-dimensional 

printing machine that uses a FDM system modified to an Aqueous-Based 

Extrusion Fabrication (ABEF) system. The results obtained that the optimum 



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Volume 4, Issue 1, pages 89–96 

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composition for shrinkage of the biocomposite material was 50:50 with the 

addition of 0.3% sericin to the hydroxyapatite solution. 

Keywords: shrinkage, biocomposite, three-dimensional printer, taguchi 

 

1 Introduction 

Many researches on biocomposite materials have been carried out. The research used 

examined the composition of biocomposite materials consisting of 

[hydroxyapatite/bioplastic/sericin]. The materials in this study were hydroxyapatite from 

Sigma Aldrich, tapioca starch bioplastic, and sericin extracted from caterpillar cocoons 

(Bombyx morii). Biomaterials can be divided into two types, namely natural and artificial 

biomaterials. Examples of natural biomaterials are collagen, elastin, and chitin, while 

artificial biomaterials are made of metals, polymers, ceramics, and composites [1]. The 

highest biocompatibility properties of ceramic biomaterials compared to other 

biomaterials. Ceramic materials in biomaterials are known as bioceramics [2]. 

Composite is a material formed from a non-homogeneous combination of two or more 

constituent materials. Due to the different characteristics of the material, it will produce 

a new material (composite) that has different properties from the constituent materials 

[3]. In the study of composite scaffold specimens using biocomposite materials with 

nanohydroxyapatite (nHA) and tapioca flour (bP) bioplastics. The ratio of nHA/bP 

biocomposite materials varied at 0, 20, 40, 60, and 80% (w/w), respectively. The tensile 

strength of the scaffold material was tested with the Diameter Tensile Strength (DTS) 

test, the highest tensile strength of the nanobiocomposite material was obtained with an 

nHA/bP ratio of 60% (w/w) [4]. The addition of 2.7% Camphorquinone and the use of 

ultraviolet light on [hydroxyapatite/bioplastic] biocomposite with a ratio of hA/bP = 

47.86%/52% resulted in the fastest solidification time = 408 seconds, and resulted in a 

DTS test for 2576.74 KPa [5]. 

Zirconia content at 40% and higher can increase the porosity of the biocomposite 

material, then cause a decrease of 0.039 MPa in the compressive strength of the 

hydroxyapatite-zirconia [6]. 



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Rapid prototyping is a method of rapidly creating three-dimensional objects from 

digital data. Rapid prototypes are different from conventional manufacturing processes 

which have the principle of making a product with a workpiece by using a cutting tool to 

get a three-dimensional slice of an object that fits the desired shape, instead using an 

additive principle that adds material to the already formed layer. Because it uses the 

additive principle, rapid prototyping is also known as additive manufacturing [7]. In 

general, the working principle of FDM is based on the deposition of melted thermoplastic 

filaments onto the workbench to create a layer-by-layer structure with the movement of 

the extrusion nozzle on the X, Y, and Z axes [8] 

Basically, ABEF has a similar working principle to FDM. However, the ABEF method 

uses a material in the form of a semi-liquid paste for the construction of three-dimensional 

objects. The paste material is extruded from the container to the nozzle using the screw 

extrusion principle [9]. In this study, modifications were made to a three-dimensional 

printer-Portabee machine to modify its working principle from FDM to ABEF system. 

Modification of the ABEF system by using a single screw extruder. 

 

2 Research Methodology 

The ingredients in this study were hydroxyapatite (catalog no. 04328, Sigma-Aldrich) 

and commercial tapioca flour. Sericin is extracted from the cocoons of the silkworm 

(Bomix morii) by hydrothermal processing. The citric acid and glycerin materials used 

are technical grade materials. Biocomposite material is made by wet process or using 

distilled water. The hydroxyapatite suspension with a percentage of 20% (w/v) was 

prepared by dispersing HA powder in distilled water with a percentage of citric acid of 

10% (w/w). Citric acid is used as a dispersant. The suspension material was mixed using 

a rotation of 1000 RPM, at a temperature of 250C for 20 hours to obtain a homogeneous 

suspension.  

A suspension of 20% (w/v) tapioca flour was prepared by dispersing tapioca flour 

powder in distilled water with 3.25% (v/v) glycerin. The tapioca flour suspension was 

transformed into bioplastic by stirring at 600 RPM at 500C for 15 minutes. The 

biocomposite paste material was carried out by mixing the HA suspension with bioplastic 



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at various mass percent ratios (w/w), as shown in Table 1. Sericin was added to each 

composition in a ratio of 0.3% (w/w) to the mass of the HA suspension. 

 

Table 1. Variations in the composition of biocomposite materials 

Level 

Factor  

% mass ratio (w/w)  

HA suspension Bioplastic 

1 40 60  

2 50 50  

3 60 40  
 

The creation of a three-dimensional image of a specimen with dimensions of 100 mm 

x 25 mm x 3mm was created using the Solidworks software, as shown in Figure 1. A 

three-dimensional image file is an image saved with the 'stl' format type. . File format 

derived from 'stl'. converted into G-code programming language using Slic3r software. 

The results of the G-Code program language are entered into a three-dimensional printing 

machine, and the parameter settings for the material filler setting on the Portabee machine 

are 10 mm/s, print speed 60 mm/s, and layer height 0.45 mm. This biocomposite paste 

material is filled into the working material container of the Portabee three-dimensional 

printing machine. By using a three-dimensional Printing Portable machine that has been 

modified, the test specimen printouts are obtained by three-dimensional printing using 

the ABEF system. The process of printing specimens using a modified three-dimensional 

printer-machine is shown in Figure 2. 

 

 
Figure 1. Test specimen design drawing 

 



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Figure 2. The process of printing test specimens using a three-dimensional printing 

machine 

The dimensions of the test specimens were measured using a digital caliper with an 

accuracy of 0.01mm. After the results of measuring the dimensions of the test specimens 

in the form of length, width, and thickness are obtained, the measurement results are then 

collected. The results of the specimen measurement, the dimension value is the average 

of the dimension values measured at three different measuring points. Measurement of 

the dimensions of the specimen is illustrated in Figure 3. The shrinkage of the test 

specimen is carried out by calculating the final volume of the object from the results of 

measuring the dimensions of length, width, and thickness. 

 
Figure 3. Test specimen measurement point 

 

 

 



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3 Results and Discussion 

The results of the measurement of the dimensions of the test specimens are shown 

in Table 2. The results of these measurements were analyzed using the Taguchi Method 

with "smaller is better" characteristics. 

Table 2. Measurement results of test specimens 

 

 

3.1. Mean analysis of response parameters 

Calculation analysis to determine the smallest value using the mean function. This is 

because the characteristics of smaller is better in finding the value of the smallest 

discrepancy/error. In Figure 4 is shown at the smallest shrinkage at the level of 2. 

 

605040

8000

7000

6000

5000

4000

3000

605040

HIDROKSIAPATITE

M
e

a
n

 o
f 

M
e

a
n

s

BIOPLASTIK

Main Effects Plot for Means
Data Means

 

Figure 4. Graph of the analysis of the mean of the parameters affecting the response 

parameters 
 

3.2. SNR analysis of response parameters 

Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR) is useful for knowing the factors that influence the 

response. The characteristics of the SNR used are the smaller is better function. With 



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these characteristics, the largest SNR value indicates the smallest error rate. Figure 5 

shows the smallest shrinkage response at level 2. 

605040

-70

-71

-72

-73

-74

-75

-76

-77

-78

605040

HIDROKSIAPATITE

M
e

a
n

 o
f 

S
N

 r
a

t
io

s

BIOPLASTIK

Main Effects Plot for SN ratios
Data Means

Signal-to-noise: Smaller is better
 

  

 Figure 5. Graph of SNR analysis of parameters affecting response parameters 

 

4 Conclusion 

From the research process, it was found that the optimal composition of biocomposite 

material with the lowest shrinkage was the ratio of HA/bP 50/50 (w/w). In this study, only 

the composition of the biocomposite paste material for the smallest shrinkage was 

produced. Further research is needed on the machine process parameters during the 

specimen printing process. 

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