A Study on Tensile Strength of 3D-Printed PLA Samples by Fused Deposition Modeling

Fused deposition modeling (FDM) is a widely used technique in 3D printing, adopted by both hobbyists and professionals as well as for education. This technology offers numerous printing parameters that can be adjusted to optimize the printing process and achieve desired mechanical properties. The objective of this investigation was to examine the elastic mechanical properties of PLA specimens fabricated using FDM. To minimize the number of experiments conducted, the L18 Taguchi orthogonal array was employed to analyze the impact of 07 parameters on the tensile strength (MPa). These parameters included infill pattern, infill density, layer height, printing velocity, extruder temperature, printing orientation, and chamber temperature. In contrast to most previous studies, our findings indicated that the layer height parameter exhibited the highest degree of influence on tensile strength, whereas the infill pattern and infill density parameters had little effect. Moreover, extruder temperature, printing velocity, printing orientation, and chamber temperature demonstrated no significant influence on tensile strength. This research laid the groundwork for future developments aimed at establishing a model that could assist lecturers, students, and 3D printer users in achieving desired mechanical properties that were either customized or consistently robust. Such a model would minimize variability and uncertainty in the fields of teaching and learning, as well as in the production of 3D-printed items.