Abstract
The objective of this research is to characterise the material poly lactic acid (PLA), printed by fused deposition modelling (FDM) technology, under three loading conditions—tension, compression and bending—in order to get data that will allow to simulate structural components. In the absence of specific standards for materials manufactured in FDM technology, characterisation is carried out based on ASTM International standards D638, D695 and D790, respectively. Samples manufactured with the same printing parameters have been built and tested; and the tensile, compressive and flexural properties have been determined. The influences of the cross-sectional shape and the specimen length on the strength and elastic modulus of compression are addressed. By analysing the mechanical properties obtained in this way, the conclusion is that they are different, are not coherent with each other, and do not reflect the bimodular nature (different behaviour of material in tension and compression) of this material. A finite element (FE) model is used to verify these differences, including geometric non-linearity, to realistically reproduce conditions during physical tests. The main conclusion is that the test methods currently used do not guarantee a coherent set of mechanical properties useful for numerical simulation, which highlights the need to define new characterisation methods better adapted to the behaviour of FDM-printed PLA.
Highlights
Additive manufacturing (AM) technologies allow for converting virtual models into physical models in a quick and easy way by means of tool-free processes
The modulus of elasticity (E), strength (σ), elongation (ε) and Poisson’s ratio (ν) were derived from the data recorded during the test and subsequent calculations following the recommendations of the standard (Equation (1))
The mechanical properties of poly lactic acid (PLA) manufactured by fused deposition modelling (FDM) were determined under tensile, compressive and flexural stresses
Summary
Additive manufacturing (AM) technologies allow for converting virtual models into physical models in a quick and easy way by means of tool-free processes. In particular poly lactic acid (PLA), are suitable materials for in vivo applications because of their biocompatibility, biodegradability, good mechanical strength and processability. PLA is the most researched and used aliphatic biodegradable polyester. It is a leading biomaterial for numerous applications in both medicine and industry, and the ability to adapt its properties for specific applications makes the market capacity of PLA products. Materials 2020, 13, 15 very broad, which has catalysed an extensive and growing amount of research aimed at the use of this material in innovative forms and applications [2,3,4,5,6,7]. If PLA-printed parts are to be usable as real industrial or biomechanical components, their structural and mechanical reliability has to be proved by means of strength and stiffness verifications
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