Application of Taguchi method for enhancement of tensile and impact strength of PLA/talc/graphene composite printed by fused deposition modeling

The aim of this research is to produce polylactic acid/Talc/Graphene (PLA/Talc/GPN) composite using the fused deposition modeling (FDM) process and optimize its tensile and impact strength. To achieve this aim, Taguchi method and grey relational grade analysis are employed to obtain the optimum values of talc content, graphene content, print speed and nozzle temperature. The produced parts are analyzed using SEM, TGA and DSC tests. The results showed that by adding talc and graphene into PLA, thermal stability of PLA/Talc/GPN composite enhanced. Taguchi analysis also demonstrated that the effect of graphene content and nozzle temperature on the tensile and impact strength is higher than the other parameters. From the results of S/N ratio analysis, it is observed that with the increase of print speed from 15 to 45 mm/s, the tensile and impact strength first increased and then decreased. However, increasing the nozzle temperature from 185 to 215°C continuously increased the tensile and impact strength. The grey relational grade analysis also indicated that the tensile strength (56%) and impact strength (71%) are simultaneously improved at 1 wt% graphene content, 5 wt% talc content, print speed of 30 mm/s and nozzle temperature of 215°C.