Ameliorating Surface Roughness and Tensile Strength of ASA Fabricated Parts by Analyzing Significant FDM Printing Parameters Using Response Surface Methodology

Pardeep Sharma; Sumit Gahletia; Kunal Bhardwaj

Abstract

The constantly growing demand for acrylonitrile styrene acrylate (ASA) polymer in the automotive market to its use for fabricating different components such as dashboards, the interior, lights, and electrical components challenges manufacturers to continuously optimize its mechanical properties to meet consumer demand. Despite the widespread availability of three-dimensional (3D) printing techniques, research on the most efficient and cost-effective methods of producing ASA-printed components is still indispensable. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to discuss the impact of changing a few key process parameters of ASA fused deposition modeling 3D printing for enhanced mechanical properties. Tensile strength and surface roughness of fabricated parts were analyzed to examine the effect of significant process factors like infill density, infill pattern, and layer height. For the tensile strength and surface roughness testing, a total of 39 specimens were fabricated using the design of experiments software and ASTM D-638 Type-IV specimens. A total of 13 samples representing each infill pattern were fabricated with varying layer heights and infill densities for testing purposes. For the sparse infill pattern, the best results can be achieved with a layer thickness of 0.229 mm and an infill density of 40.88%. Layer thicknesses of 0.206 mm and 0.178 mm, with corresponding infill densities of 51.94% and 50.17%, yield the optimal parameters in the case of double sprause and hexagram infill patterns, respectively. Using a hexagram infill pattern, the maximum tensile strength of 8.197 MPa and surface roughness of 4.90 microns is achieved and the same has been validated experimentally.