Influence of Size and Orientation of 3D Printed Fiber on Mechanical Properties under Bending Stress

Abstract

The principle of FFF/FDM (Fused Filament Fabrication/Fused Deposition Modeling) 3D printing technology is the melting and application of a continuous fiber made of thermoplastic material, according to predefined routes on the substrate. A layer is created on which other layers are placed until the object is finished. It is the orientation of these fibers that greatly affects the resulting mechanical properties. Therefore, the printed object behaves orthotropic. The material does not blend perfectly or evenly between the individual fibers, which is why the resulting strength is limited by adhesion. Within the fibers themselves, it is also its dimension that affects the size of the contact surface and therefore the effect of adhesion. This contribution aims to compare the effect of fiber size in a given direction and its rotation in 3-point bending according to the standard ČSN EN ISO 178. The maximum bending load force was obtained and the bending stress and modulus of elasticity were determined. The influence of layer cohesion on the failure of the specimens is compared. One of the other important studied aspects for the effective production is the printing time of each specimen.