Karafan Journal

Karafan Journal

Experimental Study and Optimization of the Effect of 3D Printing Production Parameters on Ultimate Strength and Impact Energy of Polylactic Acid Samples Using Response Surface Methodology

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Department of Mechanical Engineering،Faculty of Mechanical and Materials Engineering، Birjand University of Technology، Birjand،Iran
10.48301/kssa.2026.536563.3265
Abstract
In this study, the influence of specific 3D printing parameters, including layer thickness, nozzle diameter, and infill density, on the mechanical properties of parts fabricated via Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM), specifically ultimate strength and impact energy, was investigated. Based on input parameters at three levels and experimental design using the Response Surface Methodology (RSM), 17 samples were printed for tensile and Charpy impact testing. Following the extraction of results for the aforementioned responses, mathematical modeling was conducted to fit the outputs and analyze the interaction of each input on the problem's responses, ultimately determining the optimal parameter settings. The results indicated that the developed modeling provides a suitable prediction of the impact of input parameters on output responses. Furthermore, increasing the layer thickness exhibited the most significant effect on the output responses compared to the other two parameters. Conversely, unlike the equivalent ultimate strength force, where increasing infill density and nozzle diameter does not necessarily lead to an increase in its value, increasing any of the printing parameters results in enhanced impact energy. While the maximum Charpy impact energy (1.16 J) and the maximum equivalent ultimate strength force (1299.3 N) were recorded in different samples, the optimal parameter selection for maximizing both ultimate strength force (1 kN) and Charpy impact energy (1.16 J) simultaneously corresponds to a sample with a layer thickness of 2 mm, nozzle diameter of 0.5 mm, and infill density of 50%.
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Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 22 September 2026

  • Receive Date 27 July 2025
  • Revise Date 11 April 2026
  • Accept Date 22 September 2026