Effects of Infill Density and Printing Speed on The Tensile Behaviour of Fused Deposition Modelling 3D Printed PLA Specimens

Abstract

The mechanical properties such as tensile behavior of a 3D printed object can be influenced by various printing parameters, including printing temperature, orientation, infill density, and printing speed. This study focuses on investigating the effects of infill density and printing speed. Thirty dog-bone specimens were 3D printed using Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM) technique with Polylactic Acid (PLA) filament. Three different infill density settings (40%, 60%, and 80%) and three printing speed settings (30 mm/s, 60 mm/s, and 90 mm/s) were used. Tensile tests were performed on each specimen using a Universal Testing Machine. The experimental results indicate a clear trend of tensile behaviour with infill density. Increasing the infill density leads to improved tensile behaviour in the specimen. The highest Young’s Modulus and ultimate tensile strength (UTS) were achieved at 541.67 MPa and 24.3 MPa, respectively, with an infill density of 80%. On the other hand, printing speed showed an inverse relationship with tensile behaviour. As the printing speed increased, the Young’s Modulus and UTS decreased. However, the effect of printing speed on the mechanical properties was not as significant as that of infill density. When increasing the printing speed from 30 mm/s to 90 mm/s, the UTS only decreased by 5.61%. In contrast, increasing the infill density from 40% to 80% resulted in a UTS increase of 35.23%.

Keywords

• additive manufacturing
• fused filament fabrication
• polymer extrusion
• tensile properties
• printing parameters