Comparison of physical and mechanical properties of PLA, ABS and nylon 6 fabricated using fused deposition modeling and injection molding

The objective of this study was to compare the physical and mechanical performance of poly(lactic acid) (PLA), acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), and nylon 6 fabricated using fused deposition modeling (FDM) and conventional injection molding. It is found that different processing methods did not affect the viscosity of the samples, and the percentage difference for the density measurement is less than 4%. Water absorption of FDM samples is approximately 108% higher compared to those fabricated using the injection molding. The results also revealed that the FDM method did not strongly affect the degree of crystallinity of ABS, but it increased the degree of crystallinity of PLA and nylon 6. The tensile strength, Young's modulus, elongation at break, and impact strength of FDM samples were approximately 48%, 50%, 48%, and 78%, lower compared with the injection molded samples. The results presented can provide a guide to manufacturing the final products using FDM with the desired performance.