Experimental study on dimensional accuracy of freeform fabricated thermoplastic polyurethane

Abstract

Fused filament fabrication (FFF) is the prominent additive manufacturing (AM) process used for fabrication of customized parts using layer-by-layer approach by fusing the filament. The challenge in FFF AM process is to improve the dimensional accuracy of parts. To overcome this challenge, the aim of this research article is to enhance the dimensional accuracy of FFF Thermoplastic Polyurethane (TPU) parts by optimizing the various process parameters settings. In this research, process parameters affecting the dimensional accuracy are examined utilizing the Taguchi based design of experiment (DOE) approach. Main effect plots for mean and SN ratio are drawn to investigate the effect and dominance of each parameter. This study helps to fabricate the TPU using FFF with high dimensional accuracy.