Enhancing mechanical properties of polycarbonate parts developed by fused filament fabrication using RSM-TOPSIS hybrid approach

Fused filament fabrication (FFF) is a high-tech additive manufacturing technique with a wide range of applications, as it allows the production of functional parts with complex geometries in a reasonable time. Mechanical characteristics and dimensional accuracy must be estimated for the functional testing of products created with different polymeric materials. The mechanical characteristics and dimensional quality of manufactured parts are determined by several process variables. The purpose of this research is to determine the effect of four significant process variables (layer thickness, filament extrusion temperature, extrusion width, and printing speed) on the mechanical characteristics (tensile, three-point bending, compression, Izod, and shear strengths) of FFF-printed polycarbonate parts. Statistical models were created using the central composite rotatable design of the response surface methodology to demonstrate the relationship between the mechanical properties and the process factors. The accuracy of the developed models was assessed using ANOVA. TOPSIS analysis has been used to determine the optimal process conditions for achieving the optimum mechanical quality characteristics of FFF-printed polycarbonate parts. The fractured and deformed surfaces of the test samples were examined using scanning electron microscopy. Highlights * Effect of process variables on mechanical properties of FFF-printed PC parts was analyzed. * Quadratic models based on the CCRD design of RSM methodology have been developed. * The models correlate the mechanical characteristics to the process variables. * ANOVA was used to determine the developed model's adequacy. * TOPSIS was used to optimize the process conditions. KEYWORDS 3D printing, additive manufacturing, fused filament fabrication (FFF), mechanical properties, RSM modeling, TOPSIS analysis
1 | INTRODUCTION In the last few decades, implementing sustainability principles and emphasis on reducing product development time has profoundly influenced manufacturing processes, giving birth to a new-generation production method [...]