The Effect of the 3-D Printing Process on the Mechanical Properties of Materials

Abstract

Tensile tests were conducted following the ASTM Standard D3039 for different specimens produced using additive manufacturing. In the expansion of the 3D printing market, different methods of three-dimensional printing and materials have been developed. Different specimens ranging in materials and infill were printed with a consumer grade PLA FDM printer without heated bed, a consumer grade SLA printer, and an industrial manufacturing grade ABS FDM printer with heated bed. The specimens included Polylactic Acid (PLA), Tough PLA, Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS), and black resin. The PLA and tough PLA specimens were printed at infill intervals of 20% and at 0/90 and ±45^° with respect to the longitudinal axis. The ABS material was also printed at the same angles with respect to the longitudinal axis at solid (SO), sparse double density (DD), sparse high density (HD), and sparse low density (LO) infill values. The consumer grade SLA printer was used to print specimens using black resin and was divided into two sets. The first set includes specimens that were cured under an ultraviolet light while the second set contained those that were not cured after printing. The overall result showed that the infill and print orientation of ±45° performed better for the PLA and Tough PLA material. However, the orientation did not influence the ABS material which may have been the result of using an industrial grade 3D printer. In resins, the increase in resolution resulted in a higher ultimate stress while curing normalized the ductility of the material.