The fatigue responses of 3D-printed polylactic acid (PLA) parts with varying raster angles and printing speeds

Abstract

In this study, the fatigue behavior of FDM-3D printed polylactic acid (PLA) materials was investigated by rotary bending fatigue tests and finite element studies with varying printing speed and raster angle parameters. Fatigue test specimens were manufactured at five different raster angles (0°, 30°, 45°, 60°, and 90°) and two different printing speeds (20 and 80 mm/s). The effect of printing speed was evaluated at high print speed variation range (20 and 80 mm/s print speeds). It was noticed that the change in raster angle affects the fatigue life very significantly. The highest fatigue life was obtained at 30° raster angle, while the lowest fatigue life was found at 90° raster angle. Increasing the printing speed from 20 to 80 mm/s decreased the fatigue life of all specimens. The derived results from the finite element analyses were consistent with the experimental results.