Comparative investigations on the dynamical responses of ABS and PLA additively-manufactured beams

Abstract

This study focuses on experimentally analyzing the effects that various filament angles and material types have on the dynamical responses of acrylonitrile butadiene (ABS) and polylactic acid (PLA) based cantilever beams. Three ABS beams are printed with identical geometries and all printing parameters held constant except for the angle of the filament distribution. Next, beams composed of ABS and PLA are printed with identical geometries, printing parameters, and filament orientation. The beams are exposed to free vibration, random vibration, and harmonic excitation to analyze the results for the possible presence of nonlinear behaviors and inconsistencies between the identical beams’ responses. The results between the ABS beams with varying filament orientation are compared to determine possible discrepancies between beams by adjusting filament orientation. It is found that the filament orientation significantly influence the linear and nonlinear properties of these additively-manufactured beams. Then, an experimental comparative analysis is performed between ABS and PLA beams in order to determine the difference in nonlinear behaviors between the two materials. The results show all beams have nonlinear damping and nonlinear softening. It is also demonstrated that beam composed of ABS shows less nonlinear behavior than those printed with PLA. In addition, unlike PLA beams, the results indicate that ABS-based beams are less affected by the presence of multi-stable solutions.