Influence of warm isostatic press (WIP) process parameters on mechanical properties of additively manufactured acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) parts

Abstract

Owing to the deposition mechanism, parts fabricated from the material extrusion (ME) process have intrinsic air gaps that negatively impact their mechanical properties. Thus, the amount of air gaps should be minimized. In this study, a warm isostatic press (WIP) process was adopted to decrease the amount of air gaps, resulting in improved mechanical properties using acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS). To identify changes in the mechanical properties, tensile tests were performed with specimens heat-treated by the WIP processes with different pressure–temperature profiles. The influence of the temperature and pressure on tensile strength, elongation at break, and toughness was investigated. Water tightness evaluation was conducted to prove the decrease in the air-gap size. Based on the investigation, the WIP process was concluded to be effective for decreasing the intrinsic air gaps and improving the mechanical properties owing to the increase of the bonding force between the lines and layers, which led to the suggestion of a method that optimizes the parameters of the WIP process.