Experimental investigation on effects of filling pattern on compressive strength of PLA honeycomb structure made by FDM method

Abstract

In this paper, the effects of filling patterns on the compressive strength of honeycomb structures under compressive pressure are investigated experimentally. The honeycomb structure made of PLA filament was made using the Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) process. FDM is an additive manufacturing technique in which the filament material is spread by a hot nozzle in the form of a melt on the surface of the printer. The material in each layer quickly cools and solidifies. Different filling patterns including Concentric, Grid, and Hexagon were used to fill the materials. Each of these patterns affects properties such as weight, mechanical strength, printing speed, and material consumption. The specimens were tested according to the ASTM D1621 compression test. It was concluded that the Grid pattern presented the best performance against the pressure test. On the other hand, Hexagon and Concentric patterns were ranked second and third, respectively.