Mechanical Properties of PLA Printed Samples in Different Printing Directions and Orientations Using Fused Filament Fabrication, Part 1: Methodology

The purpose of this paper was to present a methodology of samples preparing process for needs of experimental research of 3D printed samples made of PLA. The main objective of the research was to study specimen’s behavior whilst conducting tensile tests. The idea behind of the research was to investigate the influence of different part printing directions such as flat, on-edge, and up-right, and different printing orientation angles from the set of {(+45°/–45°), (+30°/–60°), (+15°/–75°), (0°/90°)} on mechanical properties of the parts. The second stage of the developed methodology was testing of the specimens on the universal testing stand in order to get the necessary mechanical properties, descripted in the second part of the paper. As mentioned above it allowed to investigate the influence of the printing direction and orientation on the mechanical properties of specimens made of PLA. The aim was to evaluate the outcome of changing the raster angle on the mechanical properties for the characterization process. The present research evaluated the mechanical properties of FFF printed samples. The tensile tests conducted on samples fabricated in various orientations revealed that PLA samples of 50% filling density with a flat building direction and a building orientation angle of 75° exhibited the highest tensile load. This study also analyzed the fracture surface of the tensile specimens and examined the impact of different raster angle and direction on the mechanical properties of 3D-printed parts. The comprehensive tensile testing carried out in this paper highlights the importance of conducting tension testing to gain a complete comprehension of the behavior of the parts manufactured with FFF manufacturing technique.