Mechanical Properties of PLA Printed Samples in Different Printing Directions and Orientations Using Fused Filament Fabrication, Part 2: Experimental Research

The objective of this research article is to present the experimental analysis methods and observations for 3D-printed polylactic acid (PLA) samples. In this study, tensile tests have been employed to characterize the anisotropic behavior of the 3D-printed PLA samples. To evaluate the directional characteristics of the materials, the samples were built with various build directions, including flat, on-edge, and up-right, as well as with various build orientation angles ([+45°/−45°], [+30°/−60°], [+15°/−75°], and [0°/90°]). In order to collect the required mechanical characteristics, the tensile samples were loaded into a universal testing machine. This study looked at how the mechanical characteristics of PLA were affected by altering the printing direction and orientation angles. The objective is to assess how altering the raster angle will affect the mechanical characteristics throughout the characterization procedure. The current investigation evaluated the mechanical properties of Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF) printed samples. The tensile tests conducted on samples fabricated in various orientations revealed that PLA (50% filling density) with a flat building direction and a building orientation angle of 75° exhibited the highest tensile load. This study analyzed the fracture surface of the tensile samples and investigated the impact of varying the raster angle and direction on the mechanical properties of 3D-printed parts. The comprehensive tensile testing conducted in this article highlights the importance of conducting tension testing to gain a complete comprehension of the behavior of 3D-printed materials.