Influence of 3D printing orientations on mechanical properties for polymeric models

The coming of 3D printing technology has revolutionized the manufacturing process, particularly in the sector of polymeric materials fabricated by LCD printers. Two different designs were selected in study in order to achieve the goal. Their geometry was selected by ASTM to prepare them for the tensile test and compassion test. For tensile tests, three directions were chosen; On-Edge, On-Flat and Up-Right and for compression tests On-Vertical and On-Horizontal directions. Both experimental and FEM were used in this study. Study's findings demonstrated that the printing orientation of the specimens has significantly and decisively impacted the mechanical properties. Tensile specimen (On-Edge) exhibited greater strength due to the smaller printed layer, resulting in improved resolution and less porosity. The tensile specimen (Up-Right) exhibited lower strength due to the perpendicular orientation of the printed layers with respect to the applied tensile force. For compression test, vertical direction own superior strength compared to other.