Understanding the temperature field in fused filament fabrication for enhanced mechanical part performance

The Fused Filament Fabrication process is the most widely used process for prototyping. The use of variable feedstock material, specimen geometries, pre-processing software, and printers makes comparability and reproducibility challenging, because the part properties not only change with varying print parameters, but also with changes in the slicing routine and tool path generation. The sequential part build-up causes a transient temperature field that affects the local microstructure and interfacial bonding and thus the macroscopic properties. The weld line formation between neighboring beads within layers as well as between layers has been identified as one of the biggest factors affecting mechanical properties. Using a custom python™ program for tool path generation, the cooling and re-heating effect during printing was studied using an IR thermal camera. It was shown that the temperature of the build platform has significant effect on the cooling and reheating behavior. A numerical analysis in ANSYS® ...