Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF) is one of the most common additive manufacturing (AM) technologies that has arisen interesting from industry in a wide range of applications. In this paper, the mechanical properties of FFF 3D printed wood-PLA (Timberfill®) parts are investigated both experimentally and computationally to predict the mechanical characteristics of this material. Firstly, experimental tensile test is carried out to achieve the properties of the material. Secondly, the obtained parameters (Young’s modulus, Poisson’s ratio and yielding stress) will be use as input data in the ANSYS software to simulate a 4-point bending test. Finally, in order to validate the obtained model, the simulation results are compared to an experimental flexural test results indicating the correspondence between them. The main result of this work is an appropriate model to predict the behaviour of a 3D-printed piece formed by an internal structure with certain characteristics suitable for the manufacturing process and surrounded by a skin, which is subjected to certain external load.
3D printing technology, specifically the fused filament fabrication technique (FFF), is growing in both, industrial and private sector. Due to the large number of possible applications for parts built through this technique, the need to study new materials increases. This paper aims to characterize a thermoplastic elastomer material, TPE 96A. TPE is a flexible material that, among others, can have applications in the field of biomedicine thanks to its flexibility and strength. In order to study the material, two controlled printing parameters (layer height and fill density) are related with its mechanical properties defining the responses obtained in a tensile test. A factorial design of experiments is applied to optimize the process. The specimens are manufactured according to the ASTM D638 standard. Finally, the results will be analyzed by means of an analysis of variance test (ANOVA). Results show that the highest Young’s modulus achieved experimentally is 129 MPa if a combination of 75% of fill density and a 0.2 mm layer height is used for manufacturing the samples.
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