Investigating the Material Properties and Microstructural Changes of Fused Filament Fabricated PLA and Tough-PLA Parts

Fused deposition modelling (FDM) is a popular but complex additive manufacturing process that works with many process parameters which are crucial to investigate. In this study, 3D parts were fabricated by placing each filament layer in opposite direction to the others; for this, two combinations of raster angles, (45° −45°) and (0° 90°), along with three different infill speeds were used. In this study, two 3D printing material types—Polylactic Acid (PLA) and tough-PLA were used. The material properties of each 3D part were investigated to identify the best combination of these parameters. A microstructural analysis was also performed on outer and inner surfaces along with fracture interface of the parts after tensile testing using a scanning-electron-microscopy (SEM) to explain material failure modes and reasons. The results suggest that for both the material types, a raster angle of 45° −45° produces stronger parts than to a raster angle of 0° 90°. This study also suggests that a slow infill speed improves tensile properties by providing a better inner-connection between two contiguous roasters. Thus, the detailed analysis of microstructural defects correlated with tensile test results provides insight into the optimisation of raster angle and infill speed, and scope for improvement of mechanical properties.