The effects of printing parameters on thermal gradients and cooling rate on mechanical properties in FDM

Achieving high-quality products in Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) 3D printing necessitates proper thermal management in the printing process since it affects the interlayer bonding. The FDM process relies on the adhesion of polymer material layers controlled by various printing parameters, such as nozzle temperature, printing speed, and layer height. These parameters influence the thermal gradient perpendicular to the printing layers (cooling rate), affecting mechanical properties and adhesion between polymeric layers. This study aimed to quantitatively investigate the correlation between these key printing parameters and thermal gradients to measure their impact on mechanical properties. A high-resolution FLIR thermal camera was used to capture temperature gradients, and the printed specimens were subjected to tensile tests by ASTM D638 specifications. A complementary COMSOL-based behavioral simulation was conducted to examine how deposition velocity influences subsurface heat penetration and interlayer re-bonding during layer deposition. The results suggest printing parameter combinations leading to low cooling rate can improve mechanical properties in FDM-printed products.