Effects of material properties on warpage in fused deposition modeling parts

Fused deposition modeling (FDM) offers many advantages over conventional manufacturing methods, but it is limited by the number of materials available. Extending FDM technology to semicrystalline polymers has been challenging due to the crystallization that occurs during cooling which results in FDM part warpage. Previous work used process simulation models to study the effects of material parameters and FDM process variables on the part warpage seen using polypropylene (PP). In this work, the process simulation models were adapted to investigate warpage of FDM parts made with a high-performance semicrystalline polymer, polyphenylene sulfide (PPS). Material parameters in the PPS process simulation models were individually changed to the PP values to investigate which material parameters cause PP to exhibit higher warpage than PPS. Material parameters of interest included coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE), thermal conductivity, heat capacity, and Young’s modulus. Additional material parameters based on material property modification through the addition of fillers were investigated in order to establish the relationship between material parameters and warpage values. The simulation models suggested that the CTE has the largest impact on FDM part warpage. Decreasing the CTE in the simulation model resulted in a decrease in the FDM part warpage by the same factor.