Chemical vapour treatment for enhancing the surface finish of PLA object produced by fused deposition method using the Taguchi optimization method

摘要

In this study, the effect of process parameter and various post-processing techniques on surface roughness of PLA objectproduced by fused deposition method is investigated. The economical and versatile method with the proper designof the experiments to reduce the surface roughness is our objective. The PLA is selected as the workpiece material, abiodegradable material which is vastly used in medical implants, where surface roughness is a major issue. The variouspost-processing technique is analyzed, and the parameter optimization is taken into consideration. Post-processingtechnique like chemical treatment, vapour smoothing, sanding and polishing is carried out. Taguchi design of the experimentis also used to optimize the parameter that affects the targeted surface roughness. Taguchi L_9orthogonal array isused to organize the different parameters, and Minitab software is used to determine the optimum parameter setting.The dichloromethane chemical is found to be the best chemical for dissolving the PLA material and reducing the layerlines so that the surface roughness can be reduced. The final results confirmed that the chemical vapour treatment usingdichloromethane and the Taguchi method sufficient to improve the surface roughness.