Anisotropic polymer components with desired elastic properties manufactured through fused filament fabrication additive manufacturing

Fused filament fabrication (FFF) is a popular additive manufacturing (AM) process, primarily used for fabricating polymer components. Optimizing the mechanical properties of FFF components, such as their elastic moduli, is crucial in many applications. This study focuses on adjusting the elastic properties of polymer components manufactured through FFF process by selecting appropriate process parameters. The elastic constants of the anisotropic FFF components are measured by using ultrasonic testing (UT). Response surface methodology (RSM) is employed to determine the optimal settings for these parameters to achieve the desired elastic properties. The effects of layer thickness, printing speed, and raster angle on Young's modulus are explored. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) is used to identify the contributions of each process factor on the output responses. According to ANOVA results, the optimal conditions identified are: a printing speed of 2040 mm/min, a layer thickness of 0.2 mm, and a raster angle of 29 degrees. These conditions collectively achieved the maximum Young's modulus. The differences between the predicted and measured moduli for all responses are less than 5%. The structural factors influencing the results are examined by analyzing the fracture surfaces of the tensile testing (TT) specimens with field emission scanning electron microscopy. Additional measurements of other properties, including ultrasound velocity and wave attenuation, are conducted on the samples. The findings indicate that optimizing the parameters by setting them to their minimum values does not only improve the maximum elastic modulus in specific directions but also reduces attenuation. It is concluded that the desired elastic modulus for a component can be achieved by properly adjusting the process parameters.Highlights Optimizing AM parameters to achieve the desired elastic properties of FFF samples. Examining the effects of each AM parameter by utilizing ANOVA and RSM methods. Measuring the anisotropic elastic properties of AM samples by UT. Verifying UT results through TT and measuring attenuation. Measurement of elastic constants of polymer samples manufactured by fused filament fabrication (FFF) process by ultrasonic and tensile testing. image