A study on the process optimisation of filament extrusion for 3-D printing applications

In this study, we embark on a research on the optimisation of the filament extrusion process using statistical analysis. For this purpose, we develop our data collection scheme and corresponding precision and accuracy measures to assess the quality of the extruded filaments. The input factors are considered to be the type of the polymer (i.e., acrylonitrile butadiene styrene and polylactic acid), source of feedstock (i.e., recycled or virgin), and the extrusion temperature. The equipment utilised has been featured along with the developed performance measures. The interaction between polymer type and extrusion temperature has been found to significantly impact the precision of the filament. It has also been found that for polylactic acid, the feedstock obtained from virgin feedstock has lower variability with respect to filament diameter, whereas recycled feedstock has lower variability for acrylonitrile butadiene styrene filament.