Optimisation of Strength Properties of FDM Printed Parts—A Critical Review

Abstract

Additive Manufacturing is currently growing fast, especially fused deposition modeling (FDM), also known as fused filament fabrication (FFF). When manufacturing parts use FDM, there are two key parameters—strength of the part and dimensional accuracy—that need to be considered. Although FDM is a popular technology for fabricating prototypes with complex geometry and other part product with reduced cycle time, it is also limited by several drawbacks including inadequate mechanical properties and reduced dimensional accuracy. It is evident that part qualities are greatly influenced by the various process parameters, therefore an extensive review of the effects of the following process parameters was carried out: infill density, infill patterns, extrusion temperature, layer thickness, nozzle diameter, raster angle and build orientation on the mechanical properties. It was found from the literature that layer thickness is the most important factor among the studied ones. Although manipulation of process parameters makes significant differences in the quality and mechanical properties of the printed part, the ideal combination of parameters is challenging to achieve. Hence, this study also includes the influence of pre-processing of the printed part to improve the part strength and new research trends such as, vacuum-assisted FDM that has shown to improve the quality of the printing due to improved bonding between the layers. Advances in materials and technologies that are currently under development are presented. For example, the pre-deposition heating method, using an IR lamp of other technologies, shows a positive impact on the mechanical properties of the printed parts.

3D/4D Printing of Polymers: Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM), Selective Laser Sintering (SLS), and Stereolithography (SLA)

“…The machine parameters for FDM printing are bed calibration and nozzle diameter while the process parameters are nozzle temperature, bed temperature, extrusion width, and raster angle [52,97], see Figure 3 (left) for the schematic illustration. The bed calibration is one of the most important considerations.…”

“…Selective laser sintering (SLS), a variant of powder bed fusion and widely used AM technique, is a process used to produce objects from powdered materials using one or more lasers to selectively fuse the particles at the surface, layer upon layer, in an enclosed chamber [57,[105][106][107][108]. The powders can be fused together with different particle binding mechanisms namely solid-state sintering, chemically induced binding, liquid phase sin- The machine parameters for FDM printing are bed calibration and nozzle diameter while the process parameters are nozzle temperature, bed temperature, extrusion width, and raster angle [52,97], see Figure 3 (left) for the schematic illustration. The bed calibration is one of the most important considerations.…”

Optimization of the Warpage of Fused Deposition Modeling Parts Using Finite Element Method

“…Fused deposition modeling is one of the Additive Manufacturing (AM) processes in which the part is manufactured layer by layer from the thermoplastic polymers extruded through a heated nozzle, which moves along the programmed path. It was originally developed by Stratasys Inc., and nowadays has become one of the most popular and affordable AM processes [1]. One of the most significant advantages of the FDM process is its ability to produce parts of complex shapes [2].…”

Effects of Raster Angle and Material Components on Mechanical Properties of Polyether-Ether-Ketone/Calcium Silicate Scaffolds

“…Zhang et al [ 34 ] studied the mechanical properties of PLA and aluminum fiber-reinforced PLA composites, who found that the addition of aluminum fiber improves the dynamic mechanical thermal property, while the tensile strength and elastic modulus decreased. Thus, the printing orientation and material composition had a major impact on the mechanical properties [ 35 , 36 ]. The above-mentioned research mainly focused on solid printed specimens; however, limited studies were found in the literature on the mechanical properties of PEEK-based composites scaffold with different printing orientation and CS content.…”