Compressive response versus power consumption of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene in material extrusion additive manufacturing: the impact of seven critical control parameters

Abstract

Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) is a multipurpose thermoplastic and the second most popular material in material extrusion (MEX) additive manufacturing (AM). It is widely used in various types of industrial applications in the automotive sector, housing, and food processing, among others. This work investigates the effect of seven generic control parameters (orientation angle, raster deposition angle, infill density, layer thickness, nozzle temperature, printing speed, and bed temperature) on the performance and the energy consumption of 3D-printed ABS parts in compression loading. Raw material with melt extrusion was formed in a filament form for MEX 3D printing. Samples after the ASTM D695-02a standard were 3D printed, with the seven control parameters, three levels, and five replicas each (135 experiments in total). Results were analyzed with statistical modeling tools regarding the compressive and the energy consumption metrics (printing time, weight, energy printing consumption/EPC, specific printing energy/SPE, specific printing power/SPP, compression strength, compression modulus of elasticity, and toughness). The layer thickness was the most critical control parameter. Nozzle temperature and raster deposition angle were the less critical parameters. This work provides reliable information with great technological and industrial impact. Graphical Abstract

Optimizing the Rheological and Thermomechanical Response of Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene/Silicon Nitride Nanocomposites in Material Extrusion Additive Manufacturing

“…It should be noted that the filament tensile tests were not conducted according to a standard so the findings cannot be correlated with tests on dogbone samples. The tensile tests on the filament were carried out to have an insight into the performance of the solid (not 3D-printed) nanocompounds and evaluate the effect of the filler concentration in the nanocomposites and how this effect differs in the 3D printed parts in which the 3D printing process affects their performance [ 35 ].…”

“…The 3devo Composer extruder has four heating zones along its chamber, and the temperature can be set individually in each zone to optimize the extruding procedure. The proper temperature for each zone for the ABS polymer was determined with preliminary tests and by following the corresponding literature [ 26 , 35 ] before the extrusion of the nanocomposites for the specific study. For all nanocompounds prepared in the study, the same extruding settings were employed for comparison purposes.…”

“…The sustainability of the polymer after multiple recycling courses has been investigated, proving it can withstand six thermomechanical repetitions [ 33 ]. Toward the evaluation of the polymers’ sustainability, the energy consumption for the manufacturing of parts with the FFF process has been evaluated by optimizing at the same time the mechanical performance of the parts [ 34 , 35 ]. Its mechanical properties have been studied under different strain rates [ 36 , 37 ] in tensile tests, in creep and fatigue loadings [ 38 ], in flexural tests using statistical modeling tools [ 39 ], and under impact loading [ 40 ], among others.…”

Innovative Strategies for Technical-Economical Optimization of FDM Production

“…As the adoption of additive manufacturing expands across various industrial sectors, ensuring the optimal performance and cost-effectiveness of fabricated parts becomes increasingly imperative. The studies in [ 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 ] have investigated the cost-effectiveness and the environmental impact of additive manufacturing.…”

“…The study in [ 22 ] used statistical modeling tools to assess various metrics related to compression and energy consumption in 3D printing. These metrics included printing time, weight, printing energy consumption, specific printing energy, specific printing power, compression strength, compression modulus of elasticity, and toughness.…”