Enhancing Impact Strength of Fused Deposition Modeling Built Parts using Polycarbonate Material

Objectives: In this research, enhancement of Impact Strength is done using Polycarbonate material by Optimizing the FDM (Fused Deposition Modeling) Process Parameter. Methods/Statistical Analysis: This study features four important process parameters namely layer thickness, build orientation, raster angle and raster width whose influence on Impact Strength is studied. Experiments were conducted based on Taguchi Design of Experiments methodology. The current work finds out the optimum parameter settings required to obtain maximum impact strength on Polycarbonate Material. Analysis of Variancetest (ANOVA) was performed to find the most influencing process parameter on Impact strength. A confirmatory test using the optimum process parameters was also carried out. Findings: It was found that all four parameters interact collectively with each other to obtain variation in Impact Strength values. Layer thickness influences Impact Strength the most as compared to the other considered process parameters. The results of the study show that the value of Impact strength corresponding to the optimum input parameters of layer thickness, 0.254 mm; build orientation, 30°; raster width, 0.904 mm and raster angle 60°, was found to be 68.4J/m. The findings of the confirmatory test were very close and in good agreement. Applications/Improvements: The machinists and engineers would be benefitted by selecting the optimized values for enhancing the impact strength of FDM Built parts.