Optimization of Material Extrusion Parameters for Biodegradable PLA–Silicon Bone Scaffolds: A Pathway to Scalable Manufacturing

In the realm of additive manufacturing, the quality and mechanical performance of 3D-printed structures are heavily influenced by the parametric settings used during the printing process. Some of these conditions include layer thickness, printing speed, infill density, filling pattern, printing substance, and so on. This research investigates the effect of printing factors on the strength characteristics of 3D-printed acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) as well as polylactic acid (PLA) structures. The parameters considered for the proposed study include material type, infill direction, infill density, and infill pattern. These four conditions are optimized using the machine-learning algorithm to obtain maximum strength in the resulting structures. The breaking load, extension, tensile strain, and tensile strength are the strength factors determined by the experiments. Furthermore, a deep neural network integrated with a walrus optimization algorithm (DNN-WOA)-based hybrid machine learning method is used in the experimental data to discover the optimal parametric conditions for constructing the structures with maximum strength. Based on the findings, infill density is a significant component in increasing both the tensile strength and elastic modulus of printed samples. Line and triangular-type infill patterns exerted the range of tensile strength with 10–20 MPa of deviations. In terms of tensile strain, the line pattern produced significantly more tensile strain than the triangle pattern. The highest breaking stress is observed at a [Formula: see text] raster angle, regardless of infill density. When compared to the strengths of ABS and PLA, the PLA with a triangle infill pattern outperformed the ABS structure printed with a line-type infill pattern. The optimum printing settings for a PLA structure with a line-type infill pattern are [Formula: see text] and 25% for raster angle and infill density, respectively. This parameter resulted in enhanced strength performance, with 45.81[Formula: see text]MPa of tensile strength, 12.13% of tensile strain, 359.34[Formula: see text]kgf of breaking load, 7.21[Formula: see text]mm of extension, and 24.12[Formula: see text]min of printing time.

Process sustainability vs. mechanical strength is a strong market-driven claim in Material Extrusion (MEX) Additive Manufacturing (AM). Especially for the most popular polymer, Polylactic Acid (PLA), the concurrent achievement of these opposing goals may become a puzzle, especially since MEX 3D-printing offers a variety of process parameters. Herein, multi-objective optimization of material deployment, 3D printing flexural response, and energy consumption in MEX AM with PLA is introduced. To evaluate the impact of the most important generic and device-independent control parameters on these responses, the Robust Design theory was employed. Raster Deposition Angle (RDA), Layer Thickness (LT), Infill Density (ID), Nozzle Temperature (NT), Bed Temperature (BT), and Printing Speed (PS) were selected to compile a five-level orthogonal array. A total of 25 experimental runs with five specimen replicas each accumulated 135 experiments. Analysis of variances and reduced quadratic regression models (RQRM) were used to decompose the impact of each parameter on the responses. The ID, RDA, and LT were ranked first in impact on printing time, material weight, flexural strength, and energy consumption, respectively. The RQRM predictive models were experimentally validated and hold significant technological merit, for the proper adjustment of process control parameters per the MEX 3D-printing case.

The present research work is aimed to investigate the effect of infill pattern, density and material types of 3D printed cubes under quasi-static axial compressive loading. The proposed samples were fabricated though 3D printing technique with two different materials, such as 100% polylactic acid (PLA) and 70% vol PLA mixed 30% vol carbon fiber (PLA/CF). Four infill pattern structures such as triangle, rectilinear, line and honeycomb with 20%, 40%, 60%, and 80% infill density were prepared. Subsequently, the quasi-static compression tests were performed on the fabricated 3D printed cubes to examine the effect of infill pattern, infill density and material types on crushing failure behaviour and energy-absorbing characteristics. The results revealed that the honeycomb infill pattern of 3D printed PLA cubic structure showed the best energy-absorbing characteristics compared to the other three infill patterns. From the present research study, it is highlighted that the proposed 3D printed structures with different material type, infill pattern and density have great potential to replace the conventional lightweight structures, which could provide better energy-absorbing characteristics.

Optimizing fused deposition modelling parameters based on the design for additive manufacturing to enhance product sustainability

The impacts of infill patterns and densities on the mechanical characteristics of items created by material extrusion additive manufacturing systems were investigated in this study. It is crucial to comprehend how these variables impact a printed object’s mechanical characteristics. This work examined two infill patterns and four densities of 3D-printed polyethylene terephthalate reinforced with carbon-fiber specimens for their tensile characteristics. Rectilinear and honeycomb infill designs were compared at 100%, while each had the following three infill densities: 20%, 50%, and 75%. As predicted, the findings revealed that as the infill densities increased, all analyzed infill patterns’ tensile strengths and Young’s moduli also increased. The design with a 75% honeycomb and 100% infill density has the highest Young’s modulus and tensile strength. The honeycomb was the ideal infill pattern, with 75% and 100% densities, providing significant strength and stiffness.

<p class="Abstract">To optimize the 3D printing process, the influence of its parameters on the performance of the printing process needs to be investigated. This research investigates the effect of infill pattern, infill density, and infill angle on the printing time and the filament material length. First, this research collected the printing time and the filament length data for each combination of infill pattern, infill density, and infill angle. The data collection was conducted by implementing Repetier-Host v.2.1.6 software as a data acquisition tool. Then, the General Linear Model was applied to analyze the effect of infill pattern, infill density, and infill angle on the printing time and filament length. Based on the analysis, higher infill density increases the printing time for each infill pattern and each infill angle. Also, higher infill density increases the filament length for each infill pattern and each infill angle. The implementation of the Gyroid type of infill pattern reduces the required printing time for each density. Meanwhile, the implementation of the 3D honeycomb type of infill pattern increases the filament length for each infill angle. The use of the 45° infill angle increases the filament length and printing time. To reduce the filament length and printing time, the 90° infill angle should be implemented.</p>

Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF) is a popular additive manufacturing process for creating prototypes and end-use products. Infill patterns, which fill the interior of hollow FFF-printed objects, play a crucial role in determining the mechanical properties and structural integrity of hollow structures. This study investigates the effects of infill line multipliers and different infill patterns (hexagonal, grid, and triangle) on the mechanical properties of 3D printed hollow structures. Thermoplastic poly lactic acid (PLA) was used as the material for 3D-printed components. Infill densities of 25%, 50%, and 75% were chosen, along with a line multiplier of one. The results indicate that the hexagonal infill pattern consistently demonstrated the highest Ultimate Tensile Strength (UTS) of 1.86 MPa across all infill densities, out-performing the other two patterns. To maintain a sample weight below 10 g, a two-line multiplier was utilised for a 25% infill density sample. Remarkably, this combination exhibited a UTS value of 3.57 MPa, which is comparable to samples printed at 50% infill density, which were 3.83 MPa. This research highlights the importance of line multiplier in combination with infill density and infill pattens to ensuring the achievement of the desired mechanical properties in the final product.

Additive manufacturing such as 3D printing is considered as a highly convenient manufacturing process since it enables to create any 3D objects. It is known that different materials, printing techniques, and printing parameters are affecting the mechanical properties of the printed objects. However, studies on the mechanical properties of the 3D printed structure are still limited. In this work, investigation of the relationship between two printing parameters, i.e. infill pattern and infill density were conducted on the Polylactic Acid (PLA) material. Three infill densities, 25%, 50%, and 75%, and three infill patterns, grid, tri-hexagon, and concentric, were chosen. The tensile test, ASTM D638, was employed to obtain the material properties based on these two printing parameters. An open-source 3D printing slicer software, Cura, was used to manufacture the tensile specimens. The Young’s modulus, yield strength, and ultimate strength were recorded and examined. The results showed that the tensile properties increase as infill density increases. Of the three-printing pattern, the concentric has the highest values of tensile properties regardless of the infill densities. This finding can be used as a reference for creating a finite element model (FEM) as well as predicting the optimum tensile properties with respect to the printing parameters.

This study investigates a novel post-processing technique aimed at enhancing the mechanical properties of 3D-printed polypropylene-carbon fiber (PP-CF) composite parts. The method involves printing components with internal voids to reduce weight and printing time, subsequently filling these voids with a low-cost resin known for its superior mechanical properties. Through systematic experimentation varying infill density and pattern, key quantitative findings were obtained. Tensile strength generally increased with higher infill density, reaching a maximum of 55.664 MPa for the resin-filled triangle infill pattern with 60% infill density. Impact energy showed a decreasing trend with increasing infill density, with the highest impact energy of 0.5 J recorded for the resin-filled triangle infill pattern with 60% infill density. Microstructural analysis revealed that the triangle infill pattern at 60% infill density exhibited the most effective resin penetration, contributing to superior mechanical performance. These findings emphasize the importance of infill pattern selection in resin distribution and mechanical enhancement in 3D-printed composite materials.

Nowadays, it is well known that on the ship, free space is at a premium. Unfortunately, every part on the ship has its duration before the failure, and the spare parts occupy the space. The broken part must be replaced when the failure occurs to maintain the ship's operation. Developing 3D printer technology and particular material technology, it has become possible to print a spare part that can replace broken. However, due to hazardous environments (salt, humidity, vibrations, etc.), printed parts change their properties. Electrical capacity and further dielectric permittivity is a parameter or metric that has to be monitored since it directly influences the printed part material structure. Therefore, this paper aims to research the impact of relative dielectric constant in additive manufacturing on printed ship's spare parts since infill patterns and density were changed due to a hazardous environment. The experiment, in which the three shaped material samples are created, consists of the following equipment, the Ultimaker S5 3D printer, Polylactic Acid (PLA) and Acrylonitrile-Butadiene-Styrene (ABS) materials, and LC HM 8018m. Results show relative dielectric constant changes between 1.7778 and 2.8141 for PLA and between 2.1979 and 2.9989 for ABS, depending on infill density and pattern. ANOVA test for ABS is performed to investigate how the calculated dielectric constant relates to the infill density for various infill shapes. Scores are: F = 154.3773, Fcrit = 5.1432, and p = 6.9269·10-6. ANOVA test for PLA resulted in scores F = 18.911, Fcrit = 5.1432, and p = 0.0022.

Investigation of different parameters of cube printed using PLA by FDM 3D printer

This paper investigated the feasibility of using 3D printing processes, specifically material extrusion (MEX) and vat photopolymerization (DLP—Digital Light Processing), to produce customized wrist–hand orthoses. Design, printability, and usability aspects were addressed. It was found that minimizing printing time for orthoses with intricate shapes, ventilation pockets, and minimal thickness is difficult. The influence of build orientation and process parameters, such as infill density, pattern, layer thickness, and wall thickness, on printing time for ten parameter configurations of orthoses in both ready-to-use and flat thermoformed shapes was examined. The findings revealed that the optimized orientations suggested by Meshmixer and Cura (Auto-orient option) did not reliably yield reduced printing times for each analyzed orthoses. The shortest printing time was achieved with a horizontal orientation (for orthoses manufactured in their ready-to-use form, starting from 3D scanning upper limb data) at the expense of surface quality in contact with the hand. For tall and thin orthoses, 100% infill density is recommended to ensure mechanical stability and layer fill, with caution required when reducing the support volume. Flat and thermoformed orthoses had the shortest printing times and could be produced with lower infill densities without defects. For the same design, the shortest printing time for an orthosis 3D-printed in its ready-to-use form was 8 h and 24 min at 60% infill, while the same orthosis produced as flat took 4 h and 37 min for the MEX process and half of this time for DLP. Usability criteria, including perceived immobilization strength, aesthetics, comfort, and weight, were evaluated for seven orthoses. Two healthy users, with previous experience with traditional plaster splints, tested the orthoses and expressed satisfaction with the 3D-printed designs. While the Voronoi design of DLP orthoses was visually more appealing, it was perceived as less stiff compared to those produced by MEX.

Sustainability and energy efficiency of additive manufacturing (AM) is an up-to-date industrial request. Likewise, the claim for 3D-printed parts with capable mechanical strength remains robust, especially for polymers that are considered high-performance ones, such as polycarbonates in material extrusion (MEX). This paper explains the impact of seven generic control parameters (raster deposition angle; orientation angle; layer thickness; infill density; nozzle temperature; bed temperature; and printing speed) on the energy consumption and compressive performance of PC in MEX AM. To meet this goal, a three-level L27 Taguchi experimental design was exploited. Each experimental run included five replicas (compressive specimens after the ASTM D695-02a standard), summating 135 experiments. The printing time and the power consumption were stopwatch-derived, whereas the compressive metrics were obtained by compressive tests. Layer thickness and infill density were ranked the first and second most significant factors in energy consumption. Additionally, the infill density and the orientation angle were proved as the most influential factors on the compressive strength. Lastly, quadratic regression model (QRM) equations for each response metric versus the seven control parameters were determined and evaluated. Hereby, the optimum compromise between energy efficiency and compressive strength is attainable, a tool holding excessive scientific and engineering worth.

Manufacturing industry has been evolving during the last few centuries. Industry 1.0 started with mechanization and the use of steam power. Mass production using production lines and assembly lines dominated Industry 2.0 era. Industry 3.0 era brought automation, flexibility and product diversity and Flexible Manufacturing Systems (FMS) and cellular systems were extensively used. Recently, there is a shift towards the fourth industrial revolution (Industry 4.0). Industry 4.0 includes the combination of technologies working together to fulfill a manufacturing task. Industry 4.0 utilizes internet of things (IIoT), big data, cloud computing, cybersecurity, autonomous robotics, augmented reality, and additive manufacturing (AM). The purpose of Industry 4.0 is to integrate the entire network to function as one system. In this study, we are focusing on scheduling 3D printing machines, namely Markforged Mark Two printers. Process parameters that can be considered in these printers are layer height, infill density, print speed, build orientation, infill patterns, and print temperature. These machines are Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF) 3D printers. The parameters considered in this study are infill density and layer height. Infill density dictates the amount of material that is filled on the inside of an object while it prints. Infill density has a role in a part’s strength and weight. Generally speaking, the greater the infill density, the stronger and heavier an object will be. Lower infill densities on a part suggest that the object’s intentions are purely visual with higher infill densities meant for functional parts. Markforged Mark Two allows infill density for rectangular infill to be from 0–92%. On the other hand, layer height determines the amount of material that is extruded through the nozzle during each pass. Markforged Mark Two allows for three different layer heights to be examined, 100, 125 and 200 mm. Layer height plays a large role in print time as the amount of material extruded effects the completion rate of the object. Layer height’s impact can also be seen by a part’s fineness or detail. This is represented visually on the object by being able to see each pass of the plastic material. For example, an object with a larger layer height will look rougher and not as smooth as an object with a lower layer height. However, it is well known that a lower layer height increases print time whereas a larger layer height implies a faster print time. Several parts with different geometries and also sizes are included in the study. The scheduling performance measure considered is makespan. The objective of the study is to find the optimal parameter settings for multiple jobs such that makespan is minimized subject to minimum restrictions on print parameters for various jobs. A mathematical model is presented to minimize makespan first. Once the optimal makespan is found, the model is re-run such that better quality parameter settings are determined while keeping the optimal makespan unchanged. Later, the results of the experimentation with various parts are discussed and future work is recommended.Keywords3D PrintingSchedulingMakespan

Abstract. 3D printing is a revolutionary manufacturing technology that provides previously unheard-of levels of efficiency and design freedom. Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) is a popular method for creating complicated parts using thermoplastic materials like Polylactic Acid (PLA). Layer height, layup speed, and infill pattern are some of the process variables that have a major impact on the mechanical characteristics of PLA components that are FDM produced. The goal of this study was to maximize the mechanical performance of PLA components made with honeycomb and cubic infill patterns. The best combinations of layer height, layup speed, and infill density were found via Taguchi optimization. The findings showed that in terms of modulus and tensile strength, honeycomb infill designs continuously performed better than cubic patterns. Notably, a 40% infill density with a 0.3 mm layer height and a 60 mm/s layup speed yielded the best mechanical properties for honeycomb-patterned parts. The Taguchi study emphasized how important layer height and infill density are to mechanical performance. These results offer useful recommendations for producers looking to enhance FDM procedures in order to create long-lasting, premium PLA components. Tensile strength and modulus were found to be most significantly impacted by infill density and layer height when the Taguchi method was used to optimize the process parameters.