Abstract
Fused deposition modelling (FDM™) is one of the most promising additive manufacturing technologies and its application in industrial practice is increasingly spreading. Among its successful applications, FDM™ is used in structural applications thanks to the mechanical performances guaranteed by the printed parts. Currently, a shared international standard specifically developed for the testing of FDM™ printed parts is not available. To overcome this limit, we have considered three different tests aimed at characterizing the mechanical properties of technological materials: tensile test (ASTM D638), flexural test (ISO 178) and short-beam shear test (ASTM D2344M). Two aerospace qualified ULTEMTM 9085 resins (i.e., tan and black grades) have been used for printing all specimens by means of an industrial printer (Fortus 400mc). The aim of this research was to improve the understanding of the efficiency of different mechanical tests to characterize materials used for FDM™. For each type of test, the influence on the mechanical properties of the specimen’s materials and geometry was studied using experimental designs. For each test, 22 screening factorial designs were considered and analyzed. The obtained results demonstrated that the use of statistical analysis is recommended to ascertain the real pivotal effects and that specific test standards for FDM™ components are needed to support the development of materials in the additive manufacturing field.
Highlights
Additive manufacturing (AM) is a layer-by-layer building technique that allows complex shapes to be obtained without the use of a mold
The study of the two used for FDMTM, which are tan and black aerospace qualified used for FDMTM, which are tan and black aerospace qualified ULTEM 9085
From the the thermal thermal analyses analyses we found that the two material types show a significantly different temperature-dependent behavior
Summary
Additive manufacturing (AM) is a layer-by-layer building technique that allows complex shapes to be obtained without the use of a mold. AM is a promising area for manufacturing of components from prototypes to functional structures. The application of AM covers different sectors such as aerospace, automotive, semiconductor and biomedical applications. Fused filament fabrication (FFF), known as fused deposition modeling (FDMTM), is one of the most popular AM techniques. FDMTM is based on the melting of a thermoplastic filament that is laid on a platform to create each layer on top of the other. The FDMTM process is controlled by many parameters which range from material type to several machine settings such as the nozzle diameter and temperature, printing speed, feed rate, bed temperature, raster angle and width [1]
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