PLA-Based Material Design and Investigation of Its Properties by FDM

Fused deposition modelling (FDM) is a rapid prototyping method which can automatically construct models through software operated by computer-aided design data; the process is of layer-by-layer addition without the usage of external tooling. In this study, FDM is used as additive manufacturing processes in order to design and select optimal material structures with required properties. In this current research study, polylactic acid (PLA) material was explored for 3D printing. The parts were printed according to Taguchi's L9 orthogonal arrays with input parameters like print speed (PS), fill density (FD) and layer height (LH). The 3D-printed parts were tested for ultimate tensile strength, impact strength, flexural strength and shore D hardness according to ASTM standards. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was employed to study the influence of output parameters with respect to input parameters. Optical microscopy was employed to study the fractured surfaces.