Experimental Investigation on Comparing Mechanical Properties in 3D Printed Polymers by Varying Process Parameter

The Desktop 3D printing is a quickly emergent additive manufacturing process due to its capacity to build complex geometry functional parts. Polymer filaments are used as a raw material for building various functional parts. 3D printing process parameters influence the mechanical properties of a built part. The present study investigate the effect of process parameters like layer thickness and layup speed on the mechanical properties of PLA, Bronze filled PLA and ABS samples manufactured with a low cost 3D printer. Tensile and flexural tests based on ASTM D638 and ASTM D760 standards were performed, respectively to determine the mechanical response of the printed specimens. With respect to the layup speed and layer thickness, it is found PLA has better tensile and flexural properties compared to ABS and Bronze filled PLA.