Experimental Study on Mechanical Properties of Single- and Dual-Material 3D Printed Products

The recent increase in application of Additive Manufacturing ( AM) products has resulted in new demands throughout the industry. Although FDM-based products are used in various fields, the mechanical properties of such products still tend to be weaker than that of the products manufactured through conventional manufacturing processes. Therefore, improving the mechanical properties of FDM-printed products is a key factor that can greatly contribute to the manufacturing industry. In this study, tensile tests are conducted on a single material specimen to analyze the influence of various experiment variables that may add up to the enhancement of the mechanical properties of 3D printed products. Additional experiments are conducted with respect to the structural arrangement and material ratio of dual material 3D printing in order to investigate the effectiveness of dual material printed products. Studies on improving such mechanical properties are expected to contribute to the enhancement of the strength for single material printed products, and provide some guidance when manufacturing dual material printed products by considering the optimum efficiency of each material. (C) 2017 Published by Elsevier B.V.