Comparative Study of the Sensitivity of PLA, ABS, PEEK, and PETG’s Mechanical Properties to FDM Printing Process Parameters

Abstract

Significant advances in fused deposition modeling (FDM), as well as its myriad applications, have led to its growing prominence among additive manufacturing (AM) technologies. When the technology was first developed, it was used for rapid prototyping to examine and analyze a product in the design stage. FDM facilitates rapid production, requires inexpensive tools, and can fabricate complex-shaped parts; it, therefore, became popular and its use widespread. However, various FDM processing parameters have proven to affect the printed part’s mechanical properties to different extents. The values for the printing process parameters are carefully selected based on the part’s application. This study investigates the effects of four process parameters (raster angle, layer thickness, infill percentage, and printing speed) on the mechanical behavior of printed parts that are based on available literature data. These process parameter’s influence on part’s mechanical properties varies depending on the FDM material. The study focuses on four FDM materials: polylactic acid (PLA), acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), polyether ether ketone (PEEK), and polyethylene terephthalate glycol (PETG). This paper summarizes the state-of-the-art literature to show how sensitive the material’s mechanical properties are to each process parameter. The effect of each parameter on each material was quantified and ranked using analysis of variance (ANOVA). The results show that infill percentage then layer thickness are the most influential process parameter on most of the material’s mechanical properties. In addition, this work identifies gaps in existing studies and highlights opportunities for future research.

A Review of Polymer-Based Materials for Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF): Focus on Sustainability and Recycled Materials

“…They also provide sufficient strength to the final objects, giving them versatility, too [ 43 ]. The scientific literature reports a mechanical resistance, in terms of tensile strength, between 1.5 MPa and 150 MPa [ 41 , 45 , 48 , 49 , 53 , 57 ].…”

“…The most common and commercially available FFF filaments are the acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) and the polylactic acid (PLA) [ 45 , 58 ]. ABS and PLA possess thermal (melting point, glass transition temperature, etc.)…”

“…It is not biodegradable, and it is extruded at high temperatures (around 220–280 °C). The literature reports the following mechanical properties for ABS: tensile strength between 13.0 to 65.0 MPa, Young’s modulus between 1.00 to 2.65 GPa, and flexural strength equal to 66 MPa [ 45 , 46 , 49 , 57 ]. ABS is widely used in industry, due to its impact resistance and toughness, for example for prototyping, production of toys and components for boats and cars.…”

Non-Destructive Porosity Measurements of 3D Printed Polymer by Terahertz Time-Domain Spectroscopy

“…The samples were fabricated with a Prusa i3 MK3S (Prusa Research, Prague, Czech Republic) model 3D printer, employing the FDM technology. The fabricated samples were PETG possesses good chemical resistance, durability, and excellent formability for 3D printing [42][43][44][45]. PETG can be easily vacuumed and pressure-formed, as well as heat-bent, thanks to its low forming temperatures.…”

Fabrication and Characterization of Polypyrrole/Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes Thin Films Using Thermal Evaporation

“…Their chemical stability, electrical conductivity, and surface area are all good [15][16][17]. Polymer composites have attracted a lot of interest because they provide novel combinations with superior properties to the individual components [18][19][20][21][22].…”