Mechanical Properties of 3D Printed PLA Specimens with Various Infill Shapes and Volumes

摘要

Traditional manufacturing methods contain removing excess materials by trimming, cutting and sanding to get the projected shapes; however, additive manufacturing contain direct manufacturing of the objects utilizing computer assisted design model by adding a layer of material at a time. During the design of 3D printed functional objects, most important issue is to provide strength and durability of the final products. Main focus of 3D printing process includes materials selection, overall design (size, complexity, pore volume and shape), and printing orientation. Slicing software can be used to arrange patterns within a desired solid percentage for the printing process. Designed pattern and percent rate are two main factors for infill specimens which affect the material usage, print time, strength, weight, as well as decorative properties. Polylactic acid (PLA) is a biodegradable and bioactive thermoplastic that is obtained from renewable resources, such as cassava roots, corn starch, sugarcane, and so on. The present study reports different infill shapes of PLA specimens with various volume contents to analyze the effects of the infill shapes and volume on the tensile and compression properties of the biodegradable materials. Based on the mechanical test results, infill shapes and volume percentages significantly changed the mechanical properties of the 3D printed parts. This study also highlights that material properties can be increased using the different infill shapes and volume percentages in 3D printing process for different industrial applications.