OPTIMIZATION OF 3D PRINTING PROCESS

Abstract: Technology of 3D-Printer based on fused deposition material has developed intensively with varying qualities. However, default setting of printing process parameters provided by the manufacturer in some cases does not guarantee quality (dimension error and strength) of the printed part, since there are several process parameters that need to be considered. A 3DPrinter with poly-lactic acid filament material has been applied in this study. A specimen standard has been used as a tensile strength and dimension error test to represent printed part quality. Three printing process parameters: layer thickness, layer speed and infill density have been optimized using Taguchi L9 Orthogonal Array method. In a recent project, we have thus investigated possibilities to increase the printability of especially flexible filament. The presentation will give an overview of the modifications and their effect on the most frequently used elastic filaments, offering suggestions to modify common 3D FDM printers in similar ways for increased printing results with or without integrated fibres or filaments.

Keywords: Optimization 3D Printing Process, Fused Deposition Modelling, L9 Orthogonal Array Method, Input Parameters