Page 52 - Plastics News Issue - January 2025
P. 52
PRODUCT NEWS
Evaluating Fatigue Performance of 3D-
Printed Carbon Fiber Composites
ers (ABS-CF). Carbon fiber reinforcement sig-
nificantly improved the strength, stiffness, and
fatigue life of both PLA and ABS.
Researchers fabricated specimens using Fused
Deposition Modeling (FDM) to evaluate fatigue
performance. The manufacturing process used
precise parameters, including a thickness of
0.16 mm and a nearly complete infill density of
99.99%. Specimens were tested in various orien-
tations (0 , 45 /−45 , 90 ) under different loads
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o
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he Polymer Composites (PC) Journal by
SPE has selected “Evaluation of Fatigue and rotational speeds using a custom-built rotat-
TCharacteristics of 3D-Printed Compos- ing bending fatigue machine.
ites Reinforced with Carbon Fiber Using Design Optimizing Parameters with Taguchi Method
of Experiments” as its Editor’s Choice article for
December 2024. The study employed the Taguchi Design of Ex-
periments (DOE) approach to optimize material
Advances in 3D printing technology have revolu- composition and testing parameters. Using an L9
tionized material engineering, enabling the cre- orthogonal array, the researchers systematically
ation of custom composites with superior me- varied print orientation, load, and testing speed
chanical properties. A recent study by Imran M. to determine their influence on fatigue life.
Jamadar, Pavankumara Kamate, and Prasanta
Kumar Samal examines the fatigue performance Results revealed that print orientation played a
of 3D-printed composites reinforced with car- crucial role in durability. Specimens printed with
o
bon fiber, focusing on PLA and ABS materials. a 0 orientation exhibited higher fatigue life com-
Moreover, the research emphasizes how add- pared to other orientations. The combination
ing carbon fiber significantly enhances durability, of lower applied load and moderate rotational
making these composites suitable for demand- speed further enhanced performance.
ing engineering applications. Additionally, the Key Findings for PLA- Carbon Fiber
study highlights their potential use in aerospace,
automotive, and robotics industries, where light- PLA-CF demonstrated the best fatigue perfor-
weight, durable materials are essential. mance among the materials tested. A sample
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Materials and Methods with 0 print orientation, a 0.5 kg load, and a
3000 rpm speed achieved the highest fatigue
The study investigated four materials: PLA, ABS, life of 57,540 cycles. Adding carbon fiber rein-
PLA reinforced with short carbon fibers (PLA- forcement significantly improved the durability
CF), and ABS reinforced with short carbon fib- of both PLA and ABS.
52 PLASTICS NEWS January 2025
