Structure Integrity and Fracture Prediction of PLA 3D-Printed Eye Grab Hooks with Different Cross Sections

Abstract

This research studied various eye grab hook models with different cross sections that were made using a fused deposition modeling (FDM) technique with polylactic acid (PLA) material and fixed printing parameters. The study aimed to analyze the mechanical strength and integrity performance, fracture behavior of five different eye grab hook models. The eye grab hook models were tested under tensile loading until failure with a 2mm/min displacement rate. The scope of the study was to validate the finite element analysis (FEA) results with the experimental results in terms of load capacity, strain behavior, maximum displacement, and crack initiation points. The load capacity of all eye grab hook models ranged from 1.5 kN to 2.6 kN, and the strain varied from 3.2% to 4.4%. The maximum displacement results of all eye grab hook models in the FEA and in the experiment were very close. Similarly, the FEA well predicted the fraction initiation point as in the experimental results. The study concluded with a failure analysis for each eye grab hook model and presented the best performance of different models that can be 3D-printed with less material and, therefore, reduced time and cost.