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Experimental Characterization of the Mechanical Properties of 3D Printed ABS and Polycarbonate Parts

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Advancement of Optical Methods in Experimental Mechanics, Volume 3

Abstract

Additive manufacturing (AM), more commonly referred to as 3D printing, has become increasingly popular for rapid prototyping (RP) purposes by hobbyists and academics alike. In recent years AM has transitioned from a purely RP technology to one for final product manufacturing. As the transition from RP to manufacturing becomes an increasingly accepted practice it is imperative to fully understand the properties and characteristics of the materials used in 3D printers. This paper presents the methodology and results of the mechanical characterization of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) and polycarbonate (PC) 3D printed parts to determine the extent of anisotropy present in 3D printed materials. Specimens were printed with varying raster ([+45/−45], [+30/−60], [+15/−75], and [0/90]) and build orientations (flat, on-edge, and up-right) to determine the directional properties of the materials. Reduced gage section tensile and Isopescu shear specimens were printed and loaded in a universal testing machine utilizing 2D digital image correlation (DIC) to measure strain. Results indicated that raster and build orientation had a negligible effect on the Young’s modulus or Poisson’s ratio in ABS tensile specimens. Shear modulus and shear yield strength varied by up to 33 % in ABS specimens signifying that tensile properties are not indicative of shear properties. Raster orientation in the flat build samples reveal anisotropic behavior in PC specimens as the moduli and strengths varied by up to 20 %. Similar variations were also observed in shear for PC. Changing the build orientation of PC specimens appeared to reveal a similar magnitude of variation in material properties.

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Abbreviations

3D:

Three-dimensional

ABS:

Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene

AM:

Additive manufacturing

ASTM:

American Society for Testing and Materials

CAD:

Computer aided design

CI:

Confidence interval

COV:

Coefficient of variation

DIC:

Digital image correlation

FDM:

Fused deposition modeling

PC:

Polycarbonate

RP:

Rapid prototyping

SMP:

Shape memory polymer

STL:

Stereo lithography

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department, University of Florida, 571 Gale Lemerand Dr., MAE-C 134, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA

    Jason Cantrell, Sean Rohde, Luke DiSandro, Josh Anton, Andie Young, Alex Jerez, Douglas Steinbach, Calvin Kroese & Peter Ifju

  2. Bartram Trail High School, Saint Johns, FL, 32259, USA

    David Damiani

  3. College of Engineering, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA

    Rishi Gurnani

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  1. Jason Cantrell
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  2. Sean Rohde
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  4. Rishi Gurnani
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  6. Josh Anton
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  9. Douglas Steinbach
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  11. Peter Ifju
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Correspondence to Jason Cantrell .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry and Physics, Southeastern Louisiana University, Hammond, Louisiana, USA

    Sanichiro Yoshida

  2. Dipartimento di Meccanica, Matematica e Management, Politecnico di Bari, Bari, Italy

    Luciano Lamberti

  3. General Stress Optics, Chicago, Illinois, USA

    Cesar Sciammarella

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Cantrell, J. et al. (2017). Experimental Characterization of the Mechanical Properties of 3D Printed ABS and Polycarbonate Parts. In: Yoshida, S., Lamberti, L., Sciammarella, C. (eds) Advancement of Optical Methods in Experimental Mechanics, Volume 3. Conference Proceedings of the Society for Experimental Mechanics Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-41600-7_11

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-41600-7_11

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