Studying the effects of FDM process parameters on the mechanical properties of parts produced from PLA using response surface methodology

Today, additive manufacturing methods have received attention in various fields due to simplicity of the process, high production speed, as well as good physical and mechanical characteristics of printed parts. In this research, the effect of parameters such as the stacking angle, infill extrusion width, layer thickness, and bed temperature on the tensile strength, tensile force, impact energy, and flexural strength of PLA printed samples was investigated. To achieve the relationship between the input and output variables as well as the optimal conditions of the process parameters, the response surface methodology and the desirability function technique were used. The results showed that the tensile strength, tensile force, impact energy and flexural strength can be improved at stacking angle of 13.5º, infill extrusion width of 145%, layer thickness of 0.2 mm and bed temperature of 110 º C. In addition, when the optimal conditions of the process parameters are applied, the tensile strength, tensile force, impact energy and flexural strength are improved to 38.43 MPa, 1.48 kN, 1.86 J and 32.36 MPa, respectively.