The influence of temperature on the mechanical properties of 3D printed and injection molded ABS

Abstract

Determining the mechanical properties of additive manufacturing (AM) components manifest high interest of many researchers nowadays. Fused deposition modelling (FDM) is a widely spread 3D printing, due to its many advantages: low cost, good speed, minimum wastage, and simplicity of material conversion. This paper presents a study of the tensile mechanical properties of thermoplastic amorphous polymer Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) obtained through FDM printing and injection molded. The specimens were made according to the ISO 527 standard, 3D printed parts were printed in three different orientations (0°, 45°, 90°), while Injection molded samples were obtained from a commercial polymer supplier. The quasi-static tensile tests were performed on the 30kN Instron universal testing machine with a loading speed of 5 mm/min at two different temperatures: room temperature (25 °C) and maximum ABS operating temperature (80 °C). It was observed that the spatial orientation influences the tensile behavior of the printed specimens both at 25 °C and 80 °C. Due to the softening process of the specimens, the temperature leads to a significant decrease in the investigated properties. Finally, the results were compared with the injection molded ABS and with material filament data sheet.