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

Abstract

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. The selected parameters are the nozzle temperature in three levels of 215, 225, and 235 °C, infill patterns in three levels of the grid, rectilinear and triangular, and print speed in three levels of 800, 1200, and 1800 mm/min. 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 235 degrees, a triangular infill pattern, and a printing speed of 1200 mm/min.