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This paper aims to develop experimentally validated numerical models to accurately characterize the cross-sectional geometry of the deposited beads in a fused filament fabrication (FFF) process under various process conditions.

The presented numerical model is investigated under various fidelity with varying computational complexity. To this end, comparisons between the Newtonian, non-newtonian, isothermal and non-isothermal computational models are presented for the extrusion of polylactic acid material in an FFF process. The computational model is validated through an experimental study on an off-the-shelf FFF printer. Microscope images of experimentally printed FFF bead cross-sections corresponding to various printing conditions are digitally processed for the validation. In the experimental study, common practical printing conditions for an FFF process are tested, and the results are compared to the numerical model.

Microscope image analyses of the cross-sectional geometries of deposited beads show that the numerical model provides a precise characterization of the cross-sectional geometry under varying process parameters in terms of the cross-section outline, bead height and width. The results show that the nozzle-to-table distance has a great effect on the bead shape when compared to the extrusion rate at a given nozzle-to-table distance. Comparison of the various computational models show that the non-Newtonian isothermal model provides the best tradeoff between computational complexity and model accuracy.

The authors provide detailed computational models, including the extruder nozzle geometry for cases ranging from Newtonian isothermal models to non-Newtonian non-isothermal models with experimental validation. The validation study is conducted for practical process parameters that are commonly used in FFF in practice and show that the computational models provide an accurate depiction of the true process outputs. As the developed models can accurately predict process outputs, they can be used in further applications for process planning and parameter tuning.

This paper aims to analyze experimentally and numerically the effect of the nozzle temperature and feed rates on the dimensions of the fused deposition modeling (FDM) polymer parts.

In total, 30 strips per sample were printed with the same width as the nozzle diameter. The strips were printed with one vertical movement of the nozzle head. The width of the strips was measured with a caliper at five locations. A linear regression model was created based on the experimental data to understand the correlation between the strip width deviation and the parameters of interest. Numerical simulations were performed to predict the swell of the polymer exiting the nozzle using finite element method combined with level set method. The experimental results were then used to validate the models.

The average accuracy of polylactic acid (PLA) samples was better than that of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) samples. The average strip width had a tendency to increase with increasing temperature for PLA samples, whereas ABS samples showed mixed behavior. The strip width decreased with increasing feed rate for most cases. The measurement positions had a major effect on strip width when compared to nozzle temperature and feed rate. The numerical model predictions were in good agreement with the experimental data. A few discrepancies were observed at high feed rates and nozzle temperatures.

This study will contribute to gaps in knowledge regarding the effect of processing conditions on dimensional accuracy of FDM-printed parts. The developed numerical model can be efficiently used to predict the dimensional accuracy of FDM-printed parts.