Additive manufacturing and mechanical properties of lattice-curved structures

2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (5) ◽  
pp. 895-903 ◽  
Author(s):  
Enrique Cuan-Urquizo ◽  
Mario Martínez-Magallanes ◽  
Saúl E. Crespo-Sánchez ◽  
Alfonso Gómez-Espinosa ◽  
Oscar Olvera-Silva ◽  
...  

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to study the feasibility of the fabrication of circle arc curved-layered structures via conventional fused deposition modeling (FDM) with three-axis machines and to identify the main structural parameters that have an influence on their mechanical properties. Design/methodology/approach Customized G-codes were generated via a script developed in MATLAB. The G-codes contain nozzle trajectories with displacements in the three axes simultaneously. Using these, the samples were fabricated with different porosities, and their influence on the mechanical responses evaluated via tensile testing. The load-displacement curves were analyzed to understand the structure-property relationship. Findings Circled arc curved-layered structures were successfully fabricated with conventional three-axis FDM machines. The response of these curved lattice structures under tensile loads was mapped to three main stages and deformation mechanisms, namely, straightening, stretching and fracture. The micro-structure formed by the transverse filaments affect the first stage significantly and the other two minimally. The main parameters that affect the structural response were found to be the transverse filaments, as these could behave as hinges, allowing the slide/rotation of adjacent layers and making the structure more shear sensitive. Research limitations/implications This paper was restricted to arc-curved samples fabricated with conventional three-axis FDM machines. Originality/value The FDM fabrication of curved-structures with controlled porosity and their relation to the resulting mechanical properties is presented here for the first time. The study of curved-lattice structures is of great relevance in various areas, such as biomedical, architecture and aerospace.

2017 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 804-810 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shiqing Cao ◽  
Dandan Yu ◽  
Weilan Xue ◽  
Zuoxiang Zeng ◽  
Wanyu Zhu

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to prepare a new modified polybutylene terephalate (MPBT) for fused deposition modeling (FDM) to increase the variety of materials compatible with printing. And the printing materials can be used to print components with a complex structure and functional mechanical parts. Design/methodology/approach The MPBT, poly(butylene terephalate-co-isophthalate-co-sebacate) (PBTIS), was prepared for FDM by direct esterification and subsequent polycondensation using terephthalic acid (PTA), isophthalic acid (PIA), sebacic acid (SA) and 1,4-butanediol (BDO). The effects of the content of PIA (20-40 mol%) on the mechanical properties of PBTIS were investigated when the mole per cent of SA (αSA) is zero. The effects of αSA (0-7mol%) on the thermal, rheological and mechanical properties of PBTIS were investigated at nPTA/nPIA = 7/3. A desktop wire drawing and extruding machine was used to fabricate the filaments, whose printability and anisotropy were tested by three-dimensional (3D) printing experiments. Findings A candidate content of PIA introducing into PBT was obtained to be about 30 per cent, and the Izod notched impact strength of PBTIS increased with the increase of αSA. The results showed that the PBTIS (nPTA/nPIA = 7/3, αSA = 3-5mol%) is suitable for FDM. Originality/value New printing materials with good Izod notched impact strength were obtained by introducing PIA and SA (nPTA/nPIA = 7/3, αSA = 3-5 mol%) into PBT and their anisotropy are better than that of ABS.


2017 ◽  
Vol 23 (5) ◽  
pp. 869-880 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ying-Guo Zhou ◽  
Bei Su ◽  
Lih-sheng Turng

Purpose Although the feasibility and effectiveness of the fused deposition modeling (FDM) method have been proposed and developed, studies of applying this technology to various materials are still needed for researching its applicability, especially with regard to polymer blends and composites. The purpose of this paper is to study the deposition-induced effect and the effect of compatibilizers on the mechanical properties of polypropylene and polycarbonate (PP/PC) composites. Design/methodology/approach For this purpose, three different deposition modes for PP/PC composites with or without compatibilizers were used for the FDM method and tested for tensile properties. Also, parts with the same materials were made by injection molding and used for comparison. In addition, different deposition speeds were used to investigate the different deposition-induced effects. Furthermore, the behavior of the mechanical properties was clarified with scanning electron microscope images of the fracture surfaces. Findings The research results suggest that the deposition orientation has a significant influence on the mechanical behavior of PP/PC composite FDM parts. The results also indicate that there is a close relationship between the mechanical properties and morphological structures which are deeply influenced by compatibilization. Compared with injection molded parts, the ductility of the FDM parts can be dramatically improved due to the formation of fibrils and micro-fibrils by the deposition induced during processing. Originality/value This is the first paper to investigate a PP/PC composite FDM process. The results of this paper verified the applicability of PP/PC composites to FDM technology. It is also the first time that the deposition-induced effect during FDM has been investigated and studied.


2017 ◽  
Vol 23 (5) ◽  
pp. 943-953 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony A. D’Amico ◽  
Analise Debaie ◽  
Amy M. Peterson

Purpose The aim of this paper is to examine the impact of layer thickness on irreversible thermal expansion, residual stress and mechanical properties of additively manufactured parts. Design/methodology/approach Samples were printed at several layer thicknesses, and their irreversible thermal expansion, tensile strength and flexural strength were determined. Findings Irreversible thermal strain increases with decreasing layer thickness, up to 22 per cent strain. Tensile and flexural strengths exhibited a peak at a layer thickness of 200 μm although the maximum was not statistically significant at a 95 per cent confidence interval. Tensile strength was 54 to 97 per cent of reported values for injection molded acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) and 29 to 73 per cent of those reported for bulk ABS. Flexural strength was 18 to 41 per cent of reported flexural strength for bulk ABS. Practical implications The large irreversible thermal strain exhibited that corresponding residual stresses could lead to failure of additively manufactured parts over time. Additionally, the observed irreversible thermal strains could enable thermally responsive shape in additively manufactured parts. Variation in mechanical properties with layer thickness will also affect manufactured parts. Originality/value Tailorable irreversible thermal strain of this magnitude has not been previously reported for additively manufactured parts. This strain occurs in parts made with both high-end and consumer grade fused deposition modeling machines. Additionally, the impact of layer thickness on tensile and flexural properties of additively manufactured parts has received limited attention in the literature.


2015 ◽  
Vol 21 (5) ◽  
pp. 604-617 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonio Lanzotti ◽  
Marzio Grasso ◽  
Gabriele Staiano ◽  
Massimo Martorelli

Purpose – This study aims to quantify the ultimate tensile strength and the nominal strain at break (ɛf) of printed parts made from polylactic acid (PLA) with a Replicating Rapid prototyper (Rep-Rap) 3D printer, by varying three important process parameters: layer thickness, infill orientation and the number of shell perimeters. Little information is currently available about mechanical properties of parts printed using open-source, low-cost 3D printers. Design/methodology/approach – A computer-aided design model of a tensile test specimen was created, conforming to the ASTM:D638. Experiments were designed, based on a central composite design. A set of 60 specimens, obtained from combinations of selected parameters, was printed on a Rep-Rap Prusa I3 in PLA. Testing was performed using a JJ Instruments – T5002-type tensile testing machine and the load was measured using a load cell of 1,100 N. Findings – This study investigated the main impact of each process parameter on mechanical properties and the effects of interactions. The use of a response surface methodology allowed the proposition of an empirical model which connects process parameters and mechanical properties. Even though results showed a high variability, additional ideas on how to understand the impact of process parameters are suggested in this paper. Originality/value – On the basis of experimental results, it is possible to obtain practical suggestions to set common process parameters in relation to mechanical properties. Experiments discussed in the present paper provide a variety of data and insight regarding the relationship among the main process parameters and the stiffness and strength of fused deposition modeling-printed parts made from PLA. In particular, this paper underlines the shortage in existing literature concerning the impact of process parameters on the elastic modulus and the strain to failure for the PLA. The experimental data produced show a good degree of compliance with analytical formulations and other data found in literature.


2021 ◽  
pp. 026248932110433
Author(s):  
Naserddine Ben Ali ◽  
Mohamed Khlif ◽  
Dorra Hammami ◽  
Chedly Bradai

There is a growing need for 3D printing of polymer structures in a cost-effective way and green. This study presents an experimental approach to investigate structural parameters effects on mechanical properties of polylactic acid (PLA) hollow-sphere structures manufactured with fused deposition modeling (FDM). The mechanical behavior characteristics of square_hexagonal stacking, closed_open porosity and parallel_perpendicular compression direction compared to the direction of manufacture under quasi-static uniaxial compression are examined using Taguchi method. The S/N ratio analysis and the Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) were used to find the optimal parameters that improve the mechanical properties (Young modulus, yield strength) and to provide a significant ranking of the different parameters analyzed in this paper. It was found that the optimum level and significance of each process parameter vary for “hexagonal cells,” “open porosity” and “parallel direction.” The optimal values of the results give a Young modulus E of 90.12 MPa and a yield strength [Formula: see text] of 3 MPa. Furthermore, the experimental results further reveal that the porous structure with the loading direction that is parallel to the direction of manufacture, has a higher strength and a progressive collapse of the cells to those with a perpendicular direction.


2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 707-717 ◽  
Author(s):  
John C.S. McCaw ◽  
Enrique Cuan-Urquizo

Purpose While additive manufacturing via melt-extrusion of plastics has been around for more than several decades, its application to complex geometries has been hampered by the discretization of parts into planar layers. This requires wasted support material and introduces anisotropic weaknesses due to poor layer-to-layer adhesion. Curved-layer manufacturing has been gaining attention recently, with increasing potential to fabricate complex, low-weight structures, such as mechanical metamaterials. This paper aims to study the fabrication and mechanical characterization of non-planar lattice structures under cyclic loading. Design/methodology/approach A mathematical approach to parametrize lattices onto Bèzier surfaces is validated and applied here to fabricate non-planar lattice samples via curved-layer fused deposition modeling. The lattice chirality, amplitude and unit cell size were varied, and the properties of the samples under cyclic-loading were studied experimentally. Findings Overall, lattices with higher auxeticity showed less energy dissipation, attributed to their bending-deformation mechanism. Additionally, bistability was eliminated with increasing auxeticity, reinforcing the conclusion of bending-dominated behavior. The analysis presented here demonstrates that mechanical metamaterial lattices such as auxetics can be explored experimentally for complex geometries where traditional methods of comparing simple geometry to end-use designs are not applicable. Research limitations/implications The mechanics of non-planar lattice structures fabricated using curved-layer additive manufacturing have not been studied thoroughly. Furthermore, traditional approaches do not apply due to parameterization deformations, requiring novel approaches to their study. Here the properties of such structures under cyclic-loading are studied experimentally for the first time. Applications for this type of structures can be found in areas like biomedical scaffolds and stents, sandwich-panel packaging, aerospace structures and architecture of lattice domes. Originality/value This work presents an experimental approach to study the mechanical properties of non-planar lattice structures via quasi-static cyclic loading, comparing variations across several lattice patterns including auxetic sinusoids, disrupted sinusoids and their equivalent-density quadratic patterns.


2014 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 236-244 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Espalin ◽  
Jorge Alberto Ramirez ◽  
Francisco Medina ◽  
Ryan Wicker

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate a build process variation for fused deposition modeling (FDM) in which contours and rasters (also referred to as internal fill patterns) are built using different layer thicknesses and road widths. In particular, the paper examines the effect of the build process variation on surface roughness, production times and mechanical properties. Additionally, a unique FDM process was developed that enabled the deposition of discrete multiple materials at different layers and regions within layers. Design/methodology/approach – A multi-material, multi-technology FDM system was developed and constructed to enable the production of parts using either discrete multi-materials or the build process variation (variable layer thickness and road width). Two legacy FDM machines were modified and installed onto a single manufacturing system to allow the strategic, spatially controlled thermoplastic deposition with multiple extrusion nozzles of multiple materials during the same build. This automated process was enabled by the use of a build platform attached to a pneumatic slide that moved the platform between the two FDM systems, an overall control system, a central PC and a custom-made program (FDMotion) and graphic user interface. The term multi-technology FDM system used here implies the two FDM systems and the integration of these systems into a single manufacturing environment using the movable platform and associated hardware and software. Future work will integrate additional technologies within this system. Parts produced using the build process variation utilized internal roads with 1,524 μm road width and 508 μm layer height, while the contours used 254 μm road width and 127 μm layer height. Measurements were performed and compared to standard FDM parts that included surface roughness of planes at different inclinations, tensile testing and fabrication times. Findings – Results showed that when compared to the standard FDM process, the parts produced using the build process variation exhibited the same tensile properties as determined by a student's t-test (p-values > 0.05, μ1-μ2 = 0, n = 5). Surface roughness measurements revealed that the process variation resulted in surface roughness (Ra) improvements of 55, 43, 44 and 38 per cent for respective planes inclined at 10, 15, 30 and 45° from vertical. In addition, for a 50.8 × 50.8 mm square section (25.4 mm tall), the build process variation required a minimum of 2.8 hours to build, while the standard FDM process required 6.0 hours constituting a 53 per cent reduction in build time. Finally, several manufacturing demonstrations were performed including the fabrication of a discrete PC-ABS sandwich structure containing tetragonal truss core elements. Originality/value – This paper demonstrates a build strategy that varies contour and raster widths and layer thicknesses for FDM that can be used to improve surface roughness – a characteristic that has historically been in need of improvement – and reduce fabrication time while retaining mechanical properties.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ali Alperen Bakır ◽  
Resul Atik ◽  
Sezer Özerinç

Purpose This paper aims to provide an overview of the recent findings of the mechanical properties of parts manufactured by fused deposition modeling (FDM). FDM has become a widely used technique for the manufacturing of thermoplastic parts. The mechanical performance of these parts under service conditions is difficult to predict due to the large number of process parameters involved. The review summarizes the current knowledge about the process-property relationships for FDM-based three-dimensional printing. Design/methodology/approach The review first discusses the effect of material selection, including pure thermoplastics and polymer-matrix composites. Second, process parameters such as nozzle temperature, raster orientation and infill ratio are discussed. Mechanisms that these parameters affect the specimen morphology are explained, and the effect of each parameter on the strength of printed parts are systematically presented. Findings Mechanical properties of FDM-produced parts strongly depend on process parameters and are usually lower than injection-molded counterparts. There is a need to understand the effect of each parameter and any synergistic effects involved better. Practical implications Through the optimization of process parameters, FDM has the potential to produce parts with strength values matching those produced by conventional methods. Further work in the field will make the FDM process more suitable for the manufacturing of load-bearing components. Originality/value This paper presents a critical assessment of the current knowledge about the mechanical properties of FDM-produced parts and suggests future research directions.


2016 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 387-404 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan Torres ◽  
Matthew Cole ◽  
Allen Owji ◽  
Zachary DeMastry ◽  
Ali P. Gordon

Purpose This paper aims to present the influences of several production variables on the mechanical properties of specimens manufactured using fused deposition modeling (FDM) with polylactic acid (PLA) as a media and relate the practical and experimental implications of these as related to stiffness, strength, ductility and generalized loading. Design/methodology/approach A two-factor-level Taguchi test matrix was defined to allow streamlined mechanical testing of several different fabrication settings using a reduced array of experiments. Specimens were manufactured and tested according to ASTM E8/D638 and E399/D5045 standards for tensile and fracture testing. After initial analysis of mechanical properties derived from mechanical tests, analysis of variance was used to infer optimized production variables for general use and for application/load-specific instances. Findings Production variables are determined to yield optimized mechanical properties under tensile and fracture-type loading as related to orientation of loading and fabrication. Practical implications The relation of production variables and their interactions and the manner in which they influence mechanical properties provide insight to the feasibility of using FDM for rapid manufacturing of components for experimental, commercial or consumer-level use. Originality/value This paper is the first report of research on the characterization of the mechanical properties of PLA coupons manufactured using FDM by the Taguchi method. The investigation is relevant both in commercial and consumer-level aspects, given both the currently increasing utilization of 3D printers for component production and the viability of PLA as a renewable, biocompatible material for use in structural applications.


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