Quantifying the effect of cooling conditions on 3-D printed PLA meso-structure and acoustic properties

One of the most popular additive manufacturing (AM) techniques for producing thermoplastic polymers is fused filament fabrication (FFF). Nonetheless, there are still a lot of issues with the printed parts' quality. Most of the research being done to improve the quality of parts is limited to process parameter optimization and part quality analysis utilizing imaging techniques. These attempts are insufficient to define and forecast local material properties within the parts because of the inconsistent quality among printers and printed parts. Additionally, imaging techniques reveal how print parameters affect part quality; yet the majority of research in this field has been print-focused, leaving a knowledge gap about the connection between real printer operating conditions and final part quality. Polylactic acid (PLA) cubes with different fan activation layers were printed in the present study. The cubes underwent observable and controllable deformations as a result of shifting in situ cooling conditions. The mechanical characteristics and defect content were measured using ultrasonic and X-ray CT nondestructive evaluation techniques, respectively. We used this information to better understand how cooling history and material properties are related.