A comparative study on mechanical properties of PLA, PETG, and carbon fiber prepared by fused deposition modeling

3D printing technology is a highly promising fast prototyping method. It is a technology that is rapidly being utilized for mass customization and manufacture of open-source designs in industries such as agriculture, healthcare, automobile, locomotive, aviation, and others. FDM is an additive manufacturing (AM) technology that creates a 3D physical object directly from a computer-assisted design (CAD) model by layering the feedstock, which is polymer filament material ejected through a nozzle. The test samples were made using Olivetti S2 3D printer and according to standard testing sizes like ASTM D638, ASTM D790, and ASTM D256. Mechanical properties: Three distinct materials, polylactic acid (PLA), carbon fiber-reinforced PLA, and carbon fiber-reinforced polyethylene terephthalate glycol (PETG) are evaluated through tensile test, flexural test, and impact test by varying the process parameters such as feed rate and infill pattern. PLA is a popular biodegradable biopolymer known for its high biocompatibility and sustainability. PETG material is a kind of chemical utilized in a variety of industrial processes due to its great durability, impact strength, and outstanding formability. It is preferred over various filaments because of its superior layer adherence and odorlessness. Carbon fiber-reinforced filament enhances structural components by providing high modulus, good surface finish, dimensional stability, and lightweight properties. This study revealed that at lower print speeds tensile strength in PLA has increased, especially with line infill parallel to the load. Conversely, at higher speeds weakened PETG-CF with triangular infill. PLA also showed superior flexural properties at lower speeds with line infill.