FDM technology and the effect of printing parameters on the tensile strength of ABS parts

The effect of printing speed on the tensile strength of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) samples fabricated using the fused deposition modelling (FDM) process is addressed in this research. The mechanical performance of FDM-ABS products was evaluated using four different printing speeds (10, 30, 50, and 70 mm/s). A numerical model was developed to simulate the experimental campaign by coupling two computational codes, Abaqus and Digimat. In addition, this article attempts to investigate the impacts of printing parameters on ASTM D638 ABS specimens. A 3D thermomechanical model was implemented to simulate the printing process and evaluate the printed part quality by analysing residual stress, temperature gradient and warpage. Several parts printed in Digimat were analysed and compared numerically. The parametric study allowed us to quantify the effect of 3D printing parameters such as printing speed, printing direction, and the chosen discretisation (layer by layer or filament) on residual stresses, deflection, warpage, and resulting mechanical behaviour.