Investigation on the Effect of Printing Parameters on Flexural properties of 3D Printed Polymeric Scaffolds

Abstract

Thermoplastic polymers (PLA) are used for bone scaffold reconstruction that helps facilitate the transportation of oxygen and nutrients, including cell activity such as migration, proliferation, attachment, and differentiation. Throughout evaluation of polymer scaffold of its mechanical properties that could heal human body injuries after implantation. However, these ideal parameters for polymeric scaffolds in terms of flexural characteristics are undefined in tissue engineering applications. The Taguchi approach was employed using an orthogonal array L9 to study the ideal print parameters for 3D printing and the elements that most influence flexural qualities, as well as to forecast the highest flexural strength that could be reached with the optimal printing parameter. Furthermore, the flexural test is an appropriate test to evaluate the mechanical properties of the scaffold. The Taguchi technique determined that a printing speed of 90 mm/s, a layer height of 0.2 mm, and a density of 60% infill was the optimal combination of parameters. Besides, Printing speed showed as the most significant factor contribution while the infill density is the lowest contributor. The maximum level of printing speed, the average percentage of infill, and the medium layer height are the best parameter combinations. Parameter optimization on the most influential contributor indicates the printing speed of the specimen. Thus, the parameter for the selected factor in scaffold fabrication was optimized with a significant contribution. The predicted flexural strength was 383.92 MPa, while actual test obtained was 360.221 MPa with an error of 6.57 %.