Investigation of FDM Process Parameters and their Interactions on Surface Roughness of PLA 3D Printed Parts

Abstract

This study investigates the effect of fused deposition modeling (FDM) process parameters and their interactions on the surface roughness of 3D-printed polylactic acid (PLA) parts. The considered parameters include layer thickness, infill percentage, raster width, extrusion temperature, raster angle, and build orientation. To capture more detailed effects, build orientation was divided into orientation around the X-Axis and Y-Axis, while raster angle was split into the initial layer angle and the angle between successive layers, resulting in eight studied factors. A two-phase experimental approach was employed: An initial screening experiment to identify significant factors, followed by an expanded design matrix based on response surface methodology (RSM) for detailed analysis. The results revealed that layer thickness and build orientation significantly influence surface roughness, with the stair-stepping effect playing a critical role. In contrast, infill percentage and raster angle showed a non significant effect. The interactions between key parameters demonstrated notable effects on surface quality.