Abstract
Additive manufacturing (AM) is an innovative technology that creates parts by adding small portions of materials layer by layer, which frees designers to create parts that were not possible to manufacture with subtractive manufacturing processes previously. This led to wide-spread popularity of 3D-printing technology. In this technology. fused deposition modeling (FDM) is the most affordable one in the market now. Therefore, it is vital to understand how the print orientation, which can be customized very easily, affects the mechanical properties of the prints to maximize the strength of the product.
This paper aims to present the methodology and results of the experimental characterization of the acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) 3D-printed part. Tensile characterization of ABS was performed to analyze anisotropic nature of 3D-printed parts caused by its unique manufacturing process. Specimens were printed with six different configurations: four raster ([45/−45], [30/−60], [15/−75] and [0/90]) and three build orientations (0 or flat, 45, and 90 degrees with respect to the build plate, all printed in [45/−45] raster orientation). Dogbone tensile specimens were printed and pulled using the tensile test machine. The young’s modulus, yield strength, ultimate strength, strain at failure, breaking strength were found for each configuration.
As the build orientation angle increased and the raster orientation goes from [45/−45] to [0/90], mechanical properties decreased steadily except the Young’s modulus. For build orientation, Young’s modulus decreased first then increased as angle increased, and for the raster orientation, there was no statistically significant difference as raster changed from [45/−45] to [0/90]. Overall, [45/−45] flat configuration is the strongest and the most stable configuration.
Experimental investigations of TIG welding based additive manufacturing process for improved geometrical and mechanical properties