Parametric optimization of sand-casting pattern fabricated using fused deposition modelling

Fused deposition modelling (FDM) is a fabrication process under research to find various application in the current engineering industry as because of its minimized production time and ease of manufacturing intricate shapes. The goal of this work is to replace the traditional pattern material “wood” with “polylactic acid (PLA)” during sand casting. The objective of this work is to replace the existing conventional wood pattern or metal pattern with pattern made up of “polylactic acid (PLA)” by Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) and a split pattern for pulley is selected as the area of focus to analyze the effects of the process parameters as Layer thickness (mm), Print speed (mm/sec), Fill density (g/mm3) and to find optimal values of process parameters to minimize the surface roughness, minimize the dimensional error (pulley groove width Error), also to minimize the pattern weight. The experimental data collection is done by using the sampling technique Taguchi orthogonal array (L9). The collected data were analyzed for significance (using ANOVA) and numerically modelled by using Regression modelling and optimized values are noted for various parameters by using pareto spread of distance.