Tensile strength of partially filled FFF printed parts: experimental results

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to discuss the effect of changes of a comprehensive list of process parameters on part scalability and tensile strength of fused filament fabrication (FFF) printed parts. A number of parameters hitherto not studied such as cross-sectional area and its interaction with number of shells and infill density are presented and studied.

Design/methodology/approach

From a preliminary investigation, results have shown that varying the process parameters affects the ultimate tensile strength (UTS) of a FFF printed component, with component scale and number of shells as the two most significant parameters affecting the UTS. A further investigation based on the interactions of four process parameters, specimen width, b, specimen thickness, h, number of shells, n, and infill density, i, and their effects on the UTS was performed. Taguchi’s design of experiment was used to develop an experimental plan in this investigation. Specimens were printed and tested for their tensile strength until fracture and the results analyzed.

Findings

Results obtained support an inverse relationship between part scalability, change in cross-sectional area and the UTS of a FFF printed part. The UTS results were calculated in line with conventional method based on the gross cross-sectional area of A = (b × h).

Originality/value

The paper investigates the effect of part scalability on the UTS of FFF printed parts and evaluates the conventional method of calculating material tensile strength of FFF printed parts using the gross cross-sectional area of A = (b × h). The results of this findings show that the conventional method cannot be used as FFF printed parts consists of partially filled parts and not a solid component.

Citation

Mahmood, S., Qureshi, A.J., Goh, K.L. and Talamona, D. (2017), "Tensile strength of partially filled FFF printed parts: experimental results", Rapid Prototyping Journal, Vol. 23 No. 1, pp. 122-128. https://doi.org/10.1108/RPJ-08-2015-0115