Effect of 3D printing parameters on the mechanical characteristics of carbon fiber- reinforced PLA

The comparative results of the mechanical behavior of carbon fiber-reinforced Polylactic Acid (PLA FC) specimens of two brands of filaments for printing by the Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) process are presented. The experiments were carried out according to ASTM D638 14, using Type I specimens with the established dimensions. For the generation of the 3D model, parameters such as printing temperature, printing speed, density, and filling pattern were set. Cubic, gyroid, and triangular filling patterns were used, with filling densities of 40%, 60%, and 80%. For each configuration, a G-code was generated and used for the fabrication of each specimen. A total of 90 specimens were used, which were divided into two groups according to the brand. Subsequently, tensile tests were carried out to determine the mechanical properties by analyzing the stress-strain curves under the established conditions. Comparative analysis revealed that SUNLU's PLA FC filament achieves higher ultimate stress values, while Artillery's filament has a better ability to withstand deformation. Likewise, the filler pattern that withstood the greatest load was the cubic one.