Influence of temperature on polymer parts manufactured by fused deposition modeling process

Fused deposition modeling (FDM) is one of the most popularly used additive manufacturing techniques to manufacture complex geometry thermoplastic polymer parts. In FDM, during solidification process, the extruded filament called as roads gets bonded with the adjacent roads forming a layer and hence the entire part. Time-dependent thermal behavior of the polymer material decides the structural integrity of the part that is manufactured. An attempt has been made to analyze the effect of temperature on bond formation. A new mathematical model is developed to relate time, temperature and the extent of bonding. Parts are manufactured at different extrusion temperatures, and tensile tests are conducted to evaluate the strength and its dependency on extrusion temperature. Fractured specimens are observed under scanning electron microscope to understand the bonding between the fused polymer roads. Results show good agreement between the proposed mathematical model and the experiment results.