Correlation Between Process Parameters and Mechanical Properties in Parts Printed by the Fused Deposition Modeling Process

Fused deposition modeling (FDM) represents one of the most common techniques for rapid prototyping and industrial additive manufacturing (AM). Optimizing the process parameters which significantly impact the mechanical properties is critical to achieving the ultimate final part quality sought by industry today. This work investigates the effect of different process parameters including nozzle temperature, printing speed, and print orientation on Young's modulus, yield strength, and ultimate strength of the final part for two types of filament, namely, Poly Lactic Acid (PLA) and Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS). Design of Experiments (DOE) is used to determine optimized values of the process parameters for each type of filaments; also, a comparison is made between the mechanical properties of the parts fabricated with the two materials. The results show that Y-axis orientation presents the best mechanical properties in PLA while X-axis orientation is the best orientation to print parts with ABS.