Evaluation of dimensional accuracy and mechanical behavior of 3D printed reinforced polyamide parts

Abstract

This paper aims to evaluate the mechanical behavior, dimensional accuracy and total cost of fused deposition modeling (FDM) produced reinforced polyamide (RPA) parts; glass reinforced PA and Kevlar reinforced PA. First of all, the standard specimens are printed by varying three parameters, namely the layer thickness, the print speed and the extrusion temperature. Then, the weight and main dimensions of the obtained samples are measured before the mechanical characterization by tensile test. The results showed the effect of extrusion temperature and layer thickness on material properties is more significant than the impact of print speed. The influence of evaluated factors on the dimensional accuracy and total cost is also observed. Overall, this experimental investigation showed the advantage of reinforcement in enhancing mechanical performance (tensile and fatigue properties) and lead to improving the knowledge about geometrical tolerance of FDM printed reinforced polymer components.