Effects of FDM Process Parameters on Strength of Steel PLA Printed Parts Using Taguchi Method

Additive manufacturing is a new technology for the rapid manufacturing of prototypes or final products. The Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) method is a variant of Additive manufacturing technology. This paper investigates the effect of FDM process parameters including nozzle temperature, infill pattern, and print speed on the ultimate tensile strength and maximum elongation of a part made of Steel PLA filament. Taguchi design of experiment method is used to optimally minimize the number of experiments. Nozzle temperature in three levels of ۲۱۵, ۲۲۵, and ۲۳۵ œC, three infill patterns of the grid, rectilinear and triangular, and three print speeds of ۸۰۰, ۱۲۰۰, and ۱۸۰۰ mm/s. The results show that the only significant parameter on the ultimate tensile strength is the infill pattern. It is also observed that the only significant parameter on the maximum elongation percentage is the nozzle temperature. The best condition is obtained with a nozzle temperature of ۲۳۵ degrees, a triangular infill pattern, and a printing speed of ۱۲۰۰ mm/s.