INVESTIGATION ON THE EFFECT OF TENSILE STRENGTH ON FDM BUILD PARTS USING TAGUCHI-GREY RELATIONAL BASED MULTI-RESPONSE OPTIMIZATION

Fused deposition modelling (FDM) is one of the rapid prototyping technologies using additive fabrication approach. The contribution of three parameters namely layer thickness, build orientation and fill density are the most significant process parameter to the strength of FDM product. In this experiment, an attempt has been made to identify the process parameters that influence the strength of parts made with Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABSM30). The L9 orthogonal Array is used to obtain the experimentation runs, and by the grey relational analysis, a set of optimal process parameter combination was identified by considering the comprehensive mechanical properties such as elongation at yield, elongation at break and tensile strength of FDM parts. Results show that these parameters have a significant effect on the finished products at various levels. It is also found that the tensile strength of processed parts is greatly influenced by layer thickness parameter followed by build orientation and fill density. The obtained results can be used for the characteristics of fabricated parts to be further refined.