Análisis del comportamiento mecánico del material PLA impreso con técnicas FDM

This work shows a study of the mechanical properties of the material Polylactic Acid (PLA) in parts that are obtained through fused deposition modeling (FDM) techniques. A handful of studies approach the analysis of PLA’s mechanical properties by focusing on the different manufacturing parameters of this 3D printing technique. Most of these works assess the influence of some “key” parameters such as extrusion velocity, layer height and raster angle. However, there is little systematic examination of the effect of the deposition pattern. The center of our research is the variability in mechanical properties observed in PLA specimens printed with constant printing parameters (layer height, velocity, angle) but having the extruder follow different motion patterns: the relationship between the time lapse in the material until the deposition of the following layer and the mechanical response of the piece is inspected. We found dissimilar mechanical behaviors in tensile tests until fracture, focusing on ultimate tensile strength and plastification capacity. These differences are linked to the thermal gradient existing between the substrate layer and the newly deposited layer