Analysis of part quality produced by a fused deposition modelling machine: a pragmatic study Online publication date: Fri, 19-Feb-2016
by Ayanna-Rene De Noon; Fahraz Ali; Boppana V. Chowdary
International Journal of Rapid Manufacturing (IJRAPIDM), Vol. 5, No. 3/4, 2015
Abstract: Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM) is a rapid prototyping technology in which a spool of thermoplastic filament is extruded through a heated nozzle tip and deposited in layers built upon each other to form a final part. This research work demonstrates a method for optimisation of process parameters with the intention of fabricating high-quality surface finish and dimensionally accurate parts. The process parameters, including layer thickness, air gap, raster width, part orientation and deviational tolerance, are optimised through statistical analysis. The degree of influence of each parameter is determined using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) for the responses of surface roughness and dimensional accuracy. The full factorial experimental design was employed and the results confirmed legitimacy of this approach for optimising FDM parameters. This study also established that deviation tolerance has a significant impact on the final part just as much as the more commonly known parameters such as layer thickness and raster width.
Existing subscribers:
Go to Inderscience Online Journals to access the Full Text of this article.
If you are not a subscriber and you just want to read the full contents of this article, buy online access here.Complimentary Subscribers, Editors or Members of the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Rapid Manufacturing (IJRAPIDM):
Login with your Inderscience username and password:
Want to subscribe?
A subscription gives you complete access to all articles in the current issue, as well as to all articles in the previous three years (where applicable). See our Orders page to subscribe.
If you still need assistance, please email subs@inderscience.com
Our Blog 
Follow us on Twitter 
Visit us on Facebook