Measurement of Orthotropic Material Constants and Discussion on 3D Printing Parameters in Additive Manufacturing

Abstract

In this study, the orthogonal mechanical properties of additive manufacturing technology were explored. Firstly, six test pieces of different stacking methods were printed with a 3D printer, based on fused deposition modeling. The resonance frequency was measured by a laser Doppler vibrometer as the test piece was struck by a steel ball, which was used to calculate the orthotropic material constants. The accuracy of these orthotropic material constants was then verified using finite element software through a comparison of the experimental results from multiple natural modes. Thus, a set of methods for the measurement and simulation verification of orthotropic material constants were established. Only three specific test specimens are needed to determine the orthotropic material constants using the vibrating sensor technique, instead of a universal testing machine. We also analyzed the influence of different printing parameters, including raster angle and layer height, on the material constants of the test pieces. The results indicate that a raster angle of 0° leads to the highest Young’s modulus, a raster angle of 45° leads to the highest shear modulus G, and a layer height of 0.15 mm leads to the highest material strength. In various stack conditions, the mechanical properties of fuse deposition additive manufacturing can be measured by inversely calculating frequency domain transformation.