Optimization of the Printing Parameters of Glass Fiber Reinforced PA6 Using Factorial Experiments

Abstract:

Fiber-reinforced 3D printing filaments are composite materials compounded with short, chopped additives (in this paper case glass fibers) in a polymer matrix base. Engineering filaments and reinforced filaments have gotten a lot more popular in the last few years due to their capabilities and added properties given by the reinforced material. The biggest drawback reinforced materials have other than the cost is the printability. Due to the abrasive nature of glass fiber to be able to successfully print it certain modifications to the FDM equipment must be made, such as using a tempered steel nozzle. It is also recommended to print the components in a temperature-controlled room and to keep the humidity level of the material before printing as low as possible. In this paper a glass fiber reinforced PA6 filament was tested using different printing parameters (temperature, printing speed, layer height) to establish the optimal parameters for reducing the risk reinforced materials pose for the FDM equipment while also looking for the best mechanical properties of the printed parts.

• Periodical: Nano Hybrids and Composites (Volume 41)
• Pages: 21-30
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.4028/p-61cDPU
• Online since: October 2023
• Authors: Matei Marin-Corciu*, Nicuşor Alin Sîrbu, Alin Constantin Murariu, Marius Cocard, Alexandru Adrian Geana
• Keywords: 3D Printing, DOE, Factorial Experiments, FDM, Glass Fiber Reinforced PA6

References

[1] Woosley, Smith, and Shyam Aravamudhan. "Functionally Modified Composites for FDM 3D Printing." (2022).

DOI: 10.5772/intechopen.104637

[2] Solomon, I. John, P. Sevvel, and J. Gunasekaran. "A review on the various processing parameters in FDM." MATER TODAY-PROC Vol.37 (2021), pp.509-514.

DOI: 10.1016/j.matpr.2020.05.484

[3] Mazzanti, Valentina, Lorenzo Malagutti, and Francesco Mollica. FDM 3D printing of polymers containing natural fillers: A review of their mechanical properties. ADV POLYM SCI 11.7 (2019), p.1094

DOI: 10.3390/polym11071094

[4] Akhoundi B, Behravesh AH and Bagheri Saed A. Improving mechanical properties of continuous fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composites produced by FDM 3D printer. J REINF PLAST COMP. Vol.38(3) (2019), pp.99-116

DOI: 10.1177/0731684418807300

[5] Garzon-Hernandez, S., et al. "Design of FDM 3D printed polymers: An experimental-modelling methodology for the prediction of mechanical properties." MATER DESIGN 188 (2020), p.108414

DOI: 10.1016/j.matdes.2019.108414

[6] Peng, Xingshuang, et al. "Investigation of processing parameters on tensile performance for FDM-printed carbon fiber reinforced polyamide 6 composites." Composites Communications 22 (2020), p.100478.

DOI: 10.1016/j.coco.2020.100478

[7] Peng, W. A. N. G., et al. "Effects of FDM-3D printing parameters on mechanical properties and microstructure of CF/PEEK and GF/PEEK." CHINESE J AERONAUT 34.9 (2021), pp.236-246

DOI: 10.1016/j.cja.2020.05.040

[8] Heidari-Rarani, M., et al. "Optimization of FDM process parameters for tensile properties of polylactic acid specimens using Taguchi design of experiment method." J THERMOPLAST COMPOS (2020), 0892705720964560

DOI: 10.1177/0892705720964560

[9] Dzienniak, Damian, and Jan Pawlik. "Analysis of the surface quality of polycaprolactam 3D prints enriched with carbon and glass fiber." MATEC WEB CONF. Vol. 338. EDP Sciences, (2021)

DOI: 10.1051/matecconf/202133801005

[10] Ranganathan, Soundararajan, et al. Analogy of Thermal Properties of Polyamide 6 Reinforced with Glass Fiber and Glass Beads through FDM Process. No. 2019-28-0137. SAE Technical Paper, (2019)

DOI: 10.4271/2019-28-0137

[11] Das, Diptikanta, et al. "Mechanical properties and abrasion behaviour of glass fiber reinforced polymer composites–A case study." MATER TODAY-PROC 19 (2019), pp.506-511

DOI: 10.1016/j.matpr.2019.07.644

[12] Sodeifian, Gholamhossein, Saghar Ghaseminejad, and Ali Akbar Yousefi. "Preparation of polypropylene/short glass fiber composite as Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) filament." RESULTS PHYS 12 (2019), pp.205-222

DOI: 10.1016/j.rinp.2018.11.065

[13] Ng, N. Y. Z., et al. "Optimization of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) support parameters for fused deposition modelling (FDM) by using design of experiments (DOE)." MATER TODAY-PROC 57 (2022), pp.1226-1234.

DOI: 10.1016/j.matpr.2021.11.046

[14] Boesch, Emilien, et al. "Impact of fused deposition modeling (FDM) process parameters on strength of built parts using Taguchi's design of experiments." Int. J. Adv. Manuf. Technol.101.5 (2019), pp.1215-1226

DOI: 10.1007/s00170-018-3014-6

[15] H. R. Mohan Kumar, Benal MGM, G S PK, Tambrallimath V, H R G, Khan TMY, Rajhi AA and Baig MAA. Influence of Short Glass Fibre Reinforcement on Mechanical Properties of 3D Printed ABS-Based Polymer Composites. POLYMERS-BASEL Vol.14(6) (2022), p.1182

DOI: 10.3390/polym14061182

[16] B. Akhoundi, A. Behravesh and A. B. Saed: Improving mechanical properties of continuous fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composites produced by FDM 3D printer J REINF PLAST Comp Vol. 38(3) (2019), pp.99-116

DOI: 10.1177/0731684418807300