Mechanical Performance, Structure and Fractography of ABS Manufactured by the Fused Filament Fabrication Additive Manufacturing

  • A. Stern School of Mechanical Engineering, Afeka Academic College of Engineering, Tel Aviv, Israel & Department of Materials Engineering, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8980-9214
  • Y. Rosenthal School of Mechanical Engineering, Afeka Academic College of Engineering, Tel Aviv, Israel
  • D. Richkov School of Mechanical Engineering, Afeka Academic College of Engineering, Tel Aviv, Israel
  • O. Gewelber School of Mechanical Engineering, Afeka Academic College of Engineering, Tel Aviv, Israel
  • D. Ashkenazi School of Mechanical Engineering, Tel Aviv University, Ramat Aviv, Israel https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5871-1903
Keywords: ABS polymer, additive manufacturing, fused filament fabrication, mechanical properties, three-point bend test, fractography and structure visualization

Abstract

Fused filament fabrication (FFF) is the most widely used additive manufacturing (AM) technology for printing thermoplastic materials, among them ABS. A significant problem of 3D-printed parts manufactured by AM-FFF is the anisotropy of their mechanical properties. Thus, it is of great importance to understand the impact of build strategy on the mechanical properties and failure mechanisms of AM-FFF ABS components. This research aims, at least partly, to fill this gap by studying the structure and mechanical behavior, and by performing fracture surface analysis of AM-FFF ABS specimens under the three-point bend test. For this purpose, three build orientations (flat, on-edge and upright), each built at 0°/90° and -45°/+45° raster angles and oblique printed samples (0°, 15°, 30°, 45°, 60°, and 75°) built at -45°/+45° raster angles were prepared. The results revealed that the build direction with the lowest density, flexural modulus of elasticity, flexural strength, and deflection was in the upright direction for both 0°/90° and -45°/+45° raster orientations. Overall, two main failure modes were observed for the tested specimens: (1) inter-layer/inter-raster bond failure, which is the main contributor to failure of all upright samples and (2) intra-layer/trans-raster failure, which is the main contributor to failure of flat and on-edge specimens printed at -45°/+45° raster orientation. The results for the oblique printed samples demonstrate that a single crack initiation can transform into a few inter-laminar and intra-laminar fracture surfaces due to competing stress fields and structural gradients.

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Published
2022-11-16
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