Experimental investigations of process parameters influence on rheological behavior and dynamic mechanical properties of FDM manufactured parts

© 2016, Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. Fused deposition modeling (FDM) has gained popularity in industry because of its ability to manufacture complex parts. But when it comes to the manufacturing of functional products, the advantages of FDM are not so distinct due to the high number of intervening parameters and complex optimal settings setup. This paper investigates the influence of process parameters on the rheological and dynamic mechanical properties of FDM-manufactured parts. In this study, an attempt has been made to establish an empirical relationship between the FDM input parameters and the properties involved using IV-optimal response surface methodology and statistical analysis. Further, optimized process parameters were established to maximize the rheological and dynamic mechanical properties through the graphical optimization. The optimization results show that the parameters with the most significant effect on the rheological and dynamic mechanical properties are the layer thickness, the air gap, the road width, and the number of contours. The results also show that by taking into consideration the number of contours, the functionality of manufactured part is improved significantly.