Effect of Printing Parameters on the Tensile Mechanical Properties of 3D-Printed Thermoplastic Polyurethane

Thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) filament was used to fabricate specimens through material extrusion (MEX)-based 3D printing technique with varying printing parameters. Nozzle diameters of 0.4 mm and 0.8 mm were used, while the printing infill orientation (also denoted as raster angle) was either parallel (0°) to the length of the specimens, perpendicular to it (90°), or at a 45° angle with alternating direction in each layer (±45°). Tensile tests were conducted to determine tensile strength, Young’s modulus, and elongation at break of the samples. The highest tensile strength was achieved using a 0.8 mm nozzle diameter and 0° raster angle, reaching 32.5 MPa, with a corresponding Young’s modulus of 145.8 MPa. Meanwhile, the sample with the lowest modulus (100.4 MPa) and tensile strength (17.8 MPa) was the one 3D-printed with a 0.4 mm nozzle and 90° raster angle.