CHARACTERIZATION OF 3D PRINTED PARTS FROM FIBER REINFORCED POLYAMIDE VIA FUSED FILAMENT FABRICATION PROCESS

Fused filament fabrication (FFF) is one of the most common methods of additive manufacturing or three-dimensional printing. The mechanical performance of this technique mostly relies on the bonding strength between the layers and micro defects play a vital role in the reduction of performance. X-ray computed tomography (XCT) and optical microscopy are good ways to investigate such micro defects. To observe the influence on the mechanical performance, in this study, the test specimens are manufactured using continuous filament of polyamide 6 and short glass fiber by varying process parameters likewise raster angles, fiber weight fraction, printing temperature, printing speed and heating strategies. The correlation of features such as porosity and fiber orientation respectively suggests having higher porosity towards 90 degree raster angle and higher fiber orientation towards 0 degree raster angle. The qualitative analysis such as tensile strength and elastic modulus indicates having better mechanical performance towards 0 degree raster angle. It is also noticeable that heating strategies help to improve the bonding strength between the printed layers. The increased amount of fiber weight fraction contributes to increasing microvoids, strength, and stiffness inside the material and the specimen cut out from greater distance from the printing bed indicates to possess better tensile strength.