Analysis of Test Plastic Samples Printed by the Additive Method Fused Filament Fabrication

Abstract

The presented paper deals with the influence of coloring additives and the setting of process parameters of 3D printing on the mechanical and surface properties of samples made of PLA material. The paper characterizes the process of filament production, as well as the printing of normalized samples on a 3D printer using the additive method Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF). The effect of 3 types of coloring additives is evaluated on the basis of tensile test, hardness test and surface analysis. The evaluated quantities are especially loading force, yield stress, hardness, surface texture, roughness and waviness. The influence of the percentage of sample filling with respect to the mechanical properties of the material is also evaluated. The paper is completed assessing achievements of the results achieved and an overall recommendation for filament manufacturers and users of 3D printers.

The Influence of the Printing Temperature and the Filament Color on the Dimensional Accuracy, Tensile Strength, and Friction Performance of FFF-Printed PLA Specimens

“…The variable parameters were the printing temperature (ranging from 200 °C to 240 °C) and the filament color (natural PLA and black PLA). The natural PLA filament was selected as the reference material, whereas the black-colored PLA was chosen considering the fact that black dyes enhance the thermal conductivity of the PLA and modify its friction behavior, as shown by previous research [ 3 , 17 , 18 , 28 , 29 , 34 , 35 ].…”

“…Concerning the influence of the FDM extrusion temperature on the crystallinity of PLA-printed parts and, through this, on its mechanical properties, controversial opinions are stated in previous studies. Some researchers [ 27 , 28 , 29 ] reported a strong and color-dependent relationship between the printed sample’s crystallinity and the extruder temperature, and that improper temperature control reduces the crystallinity of the 3D print [ 30 ]. Moreover, the influence of the printing temperature on the in-process crystallinity does not show linear variation, and there is a critical temperature for each type of FDM-printed PLA filament at which a maximum percent crystallinity can be achieved [ 27 ].…”

“…Regarding the color of the PLA filament, previous research showed that its influence on the dimensional accuracy [ 1 , 34 ] and the tensile strength [ 17 , 18 , 27 , 29 ] of FDM-printed samples cannot be neglected, and that also the same color PLA filaments manufactured by different producers, may not have the same printing properties [ 24 ]. The reasons behind this are considered to be the color-dependent in-process crystallinity and/or the different thermal behavior [ 17 , 34 ] in the case of PLA filaments containing coloring additives.…”

“…With respect to the friction and wear performance of PLA samples printed by FDM, the authors of previous research pointed out the fact that both parameters, the color of the PLA filament [ 35 ] and the extrusion temperature [ 36 , 37 ], influence these characteristics. In relation to the friction performance, the surface finishing of the parts has to be considered and therefore the influence of the filament color [ 29 , 34 ] and the extrusion temperature [ 22 , 34 ] on the sample’s roughness. Some of the researchers also reported that natural PLA prints exhibited the lowest roughness value compared to that of other colored PLA filaments, manufactured under the same process conditions [ 1 ].…”

Estimation and Improvement of the Achievable Tolerance Interval in Material Extrusion Additive Manufacturing through a Multi-State Machine Performance Perspective

“…The configuration parameters used in this study are provided in Table 1. The layer thickness was selected after Günay [35], whereas the 25% infill is a frequently used value [44][45][46]. Deposition speed and print temperatures have been adapted after the recommendations of the Ultimaker and the actual performance of the BCN3D.…”