Effect of Process Parameters on the Mechanical Behaviour of FDM and DMLSBuild Parts: an Experimental Investigation

Abstract

Additive manufacturing (AM) process has received a great deal of interest in the recent years in manufacturing for integrating it into their production facilities so that huge amount of design and manufacturing freedom can be obtained. Manufacturing of products having intricate shapes can be done in relatively less time with complete assembly. The AM processes also reduce the burden on production teams by reducing the amount of process planning and eliminating the need for preparing tools and fixtures for each new product. But the growing interest in the AM processes has not spread to the broader industry due to lack of understanding of the processes and inadequate standardization of fabricated parts serving as major obstacles for wider adoption of the processes. The lack of understanding of the AM processes has led to a huge spurt in research on the AM processes. The physical and mechanical properties of AM processes have been the focus of a wide range of studies. The present study aims to contribute to the characterization and standardization of the AM processes. The present study explores the mechanical properties of parts produced by two AM processes namely fused deposition modelling (FDM) and direct metal laser sintering (DMLS). The effect of process parameters on the tensile strength of the parts is investigated. The effect of layer thickness and build orientation on the mechanical behaviour of FDM part is explored and an effort has been made to provide an explanation for the variations in the tensile strength. The laser power, scan speed and build orientation are varied during the fabrication of parts using the DMLS process and the relation between these process parameters and the tensile strength of the part is investigated. The present study concludes that the variation in process parameters has significant influence on the tensile strength. The build mechanism of the processes plays a vital role in determining the mechanical behaviour of the fabricated parts and the tensile fracture of the parts is dependent on the imperfections arising during the build process.