Flexural Behavior of Additively Manufactured Ultem 1010: Experiment and Simulation

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to study the flexural behavior of additively manufacture Ultem 1010 parts. Fused deposition modeling (FDM) process has become one of most widely used additive manufacturing methods. The process provides the capability of fabricating complicated shapes through the extrusion of plastics onto a print surface in a layer-by-layer structure to build three-dimensional parts. The flexural behavior of FDM parts are critical for the evaluation and optimization of both material and process.

Design/methodology/approach: This study focuses on the performance of FDM solid and sparse-build Ultem 1010 specimens. Flexure tests (three-point bend) are performed on solid-build coupons with varying build orientation and raster angle. These parameters are investigated through a full-factorial design of experiments (DOE) to determine optimal build parameters. Air gap, raster width and contour width are held constant. A three-dimensional nonlinear finite element model is built to simulate the flexural behavior of the FDM parts.

Findings: Experimental results include flexure properties such as yield strength and modulus, as well as analysis of the effect of change in build parameters on material properties. The sparse-build FDM parts chosen from the experimental tests are simulated based on this developed model. Thermo-mechanical simulation results show that the finite element simulation and experimental tests are in good agreement. The simulation can be further extended to other complicated FDM parts.

Originality/value: From the DOE study, sparse-build coupons with specific build parameters are fabricated and tested for the validation of a finite element simulation.

Department(s)

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Research Center/Lab(s)

Intelligent Systems Center

Second Research Center/Lab

Center for High Performance Computing Research

Keywords and Phrases

3D printers; Design of experiments; Frequency division multiplexing; Thermomechanical treatment; Design/methodology/approach; Finite element simulations; Flexure; Fused deposition modeling; Simulation; Thermomechanical simulation; Three-dimensional nonlinear finite element model; Ultem 1010; Finite element method; DOE; FDM

International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)

1355-2546

Document Type

Article - Journal

Document Version

Citation

File Type

text

Language(s)

English

Rights

© 2018 Emerald, All rights reserved.

Publication Date

01 Aug 2018

Link to Full Text

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