Influence of Infill Pattern on Mechanical Behavior of Polymeric and Composites Specimens Manufactured Using Fused Filament Fabrication Technology

Abstract

This paper presents the results of a comparative evaluation of the tensile strength behaviors of parts obtained by additive manufacturing using fused filament fabrication (FFF) technology. The study investigated the influences of the deposition printing parameters for both polymers and fiber-reinforced polymers. Polymeric materials that are widely used in FFF were selected, including acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), polylactic acid (PLA), and nylon. Carbon and glass continuous fibers were used to reinforce the nylon matrix in composite materials. The study utilized two manufacturing methods. Polymers were manufactured using an Ultimaker 2 Extended+ device and the fiber-reinforced polymer specimens were obtained using a Markforged Mark Two printer. The entire set of specimens was eventually subjected to destructive monoaxial tensile tests to measure their responses. The main goal of this study was to estimate the effect of the different infill patterns applied (zig-zag, concentric, and four different orientations lines) on the mechanical properties of pure thermoplastic materials and reinforced polymers. Results show a spectacular increase in the tensile stress at break, which for polymers reaches an average value of 27.53 MPa compared to 94.51 MPa in the case of composites (increase of 70.87%). A similar increase occurs in the case of tensile stress at yield with values of 31.87 MPa and 105.98 MPa, respectively, which represents an increase of 69.93%. The influence of the infill of the fiber is decisive, reaching, in the 0-0 arrangement, mean values of 220.18 MPa for tensile stress at break and 198.26 MPa for tensile stress at yield.

Influence of Process Parameters on the Characteristics of Additively Manufactured Parts Made from Advanced Biopolymers

“…Apart from the filling density and patterns, there are numerous studies on the influence of the printing deposition direction and build-up on the mechanical properties of biopolymers [ 160 , 161 ]. These influences have been investigated by Dezaki et al from different build-up directions in two directions: flat and at the edge ( Figure 23 ).…”

“…FEA results showed that honeycomb and lattice patterns were the strongest among the other patterns, while they had lower weight [ 160 ]. Martin et al [ 161 ] investigated the influences of the printing deposition on the tensile properties of PLA samples. The yield modulus values obtained in the tensile test showed a decrease of 15.96% with concentric deposition and 27.07% with zigzag deposition compared to the manufacturer’s data [ 161 ].…”

Analysis of the Effect of the Surface Inclination Angle on the Roughness of Polymeric Parts Obtained with Fused Filament Fabrication Technology

“…With a wide range of materials and technologies, additive manufacturing has proven to be one of the most efficient alternatives to traditional manufacturing. The set of technologies involved in AM aim to achieve the characteristics required for printed parts, both in design features and mechanical performance (Martín et al [ 1 ]), taking advantage of the possibilities that these processes offer: cost and waste reduction, design freedom, flexibility, printing-time reduction, use of a variety of materials, mechanical-property and surface-roughness improvement, etc. In this last aspect, unlike with original models, parts manufactured with fused filament fabrication (FFF) technology present an inherent superficial texture due to its distinctive layer-by-layer deposition (Buj-Corral et al [ 2 ], Delfs et al [ 3 ]), which can be considered a surface-finish defect.…”

Deposition of Biocompatible Polymers by 3D Printing (FDM) on Titanium Alloy

“…The 3D FDM prints are mainly tested for their mechanical properties [16][17][18][19]. However, papers analyzing the tribological properties of FDM 3D prints are appearing more frequently [20][21][22][23][24][25].…”