Flexural behavior of additively manufactured Ultem 1010: experiment and simulation
ISSN: 1355-2546
Article publication date: 1 October 2018
Issue publication date: 15 October 2018
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to study the flexural behavior of additively manufacture Ultem 1010 parts. Fused deposition modeling (FDM) process has become one of most widely used additive manufacturing methods. The process provides the capability of fabricating complicated shapes through the extrusion of plastics onto a print surface in a layer-by-layer structure to build three-dimensional parts. The flexural behavior of FDM parts are critical for the evaluation and optimization of both material and process.
Design/methodology/approach
This study focuses on the performance of FDM solid and sparse-build Ultem 1010 specimens. Flexure tests (three-point bend) are performed on solid-build coupons with varying build orientation and raster angle. These parameters are investigated through a full-factorial design of experiments (DOE) to determine optimal build parameters. Air gap, raster width and contour width are held constant. A three-dimensional nonlinear finite element model is built to simulate the flexural behavior of the FDM parts.
Findings
Experimental results include flexure properties such as yield strength and modulus, as well as analysis of the effect of change in build parameters on material properties. The sparse-build FDM parts chosen from the experimental tests are simulated based on this developed model. Thermo-mechanical simulation results show that the finite element simulation and experimental tests are in good agreement. The simulation can be further extended to other complicated FDM parts.
Originality/value
From the DOE study, sparse-build coupons with specific build parameters are fabricated and tested for the validation of a finite element simulation.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
This research is sponsored by the Industrial Consortium of the Center for Aerospace Manufacturing Technologies (CAMT) at Missouri University of Science and Technology. The authors would also like to thank Michael Matlack and James Castle (Boeing) for their technical suggestions and Brett Buswell (Missouri S&T) for his help with sample fabrication.
Citation
Taylor, G., Wang, X., Mason, L., Leu, M.C., Chandrashekhara, K., Schniepp, T. and Jones, R. (2018), "Flexural behavior of additively manufactured Ultem 1010: experiment and simulation", Rapid Prototyping Journal, Vol. 24 No. 6, pp. 1003-1011. https://doi.org/10.1108/RPJ-02-2018-0037
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2018, Emerald Publishing Limited