Experimental Research on the Effects of Machine Process Parameters on the Compressive and Flexural Strength of PLA Material Printed Using FDM

Polylactic acid (PLA), also known as polylactide, is a thermoplastic polyester that is commonly used in Fused deposition modeling (FDM) 3D printing and is considered one of the world's far more widely used bio-plastics. PLA is considered biodegradable and environmentally beneficial, unlike petrochemical-based polymers. This is a low-cost product that could be used in a variety of applications, including food packaging, tissue scaffolding, and biomedical devices. This proposed study is primarily concerned with an in-depth investigation of polylactic acid's mechanical strength and its optimization. The L-9 orthogonal array is adopted by utilizing the Taguchi design of experiments, with input characteristics such as Printing speed, Infill density, and Layer height for the fabrication of nine different sets of flexural and compressive specimens as per ASTM standards using FDM. The responses such as compressive strength and flexural strength are optimized using Taguchi Analysis – S/N Ratios and ANOVA. Similarly, this research reveals a statistical link between input elements and responses. According to the current study, the ideal parameter levels for Flexural and Compression strengths have been found and confirmation Tests have also been conducted according to the optimized process parameter levels as obtained in the Taguchi analysis.