Analysis and optimization of FFF process parameters to enhance the mechanical properties of 3D printed PLA products

Abstract In this work, the combined effects of fused filament fabrication (FFF) process parameters on the mechanical properties of 3D printed PLA products have been determined by focusing on the tensile strength at R 2 (97.29%). ASTM D638 test standard is used for the preparation of specimens for tensile tests. The optimization technique has been used to determine the optimal combinations of FFF process parameters for the validation of experimental tensile tests and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations. From the results obtained the optimum cooling fan speed of 79.3%, extrusion temperature of 214.4 °C, printing speed of 75.9 mm/s, raster width of 0.4814 mm, and shell number 5 were determined with a 2.266% error of the tensile strength (45.06 MPa). SEM morphology examination shows that the fabricated part cooled at 80% cooling fan speed illustrates good inter-layer bond strength which is also confirmed by CFD temperature distributions analysis.