Abstract
In recent years the topic of additive manufacturing has become quite popular in industrial applications and scientific studies. However, the rapid development in this field, especially the slicer and machine software, makes research difficult because these can become obsolete due to software improvements. Another impeding aspect is the lack of knowledge and interest in the field of 3D printing or additive manufacturing process and materials; primarily, 3D printing is seen as a tool to achieve some results by researchers. Due to these facts, most studies do not discuss 3D printing parameters properly, making reproducing results almost impossible.
This paper discusses three 3D printing parameters that affect the properties of final products made by different chopped fibre filled- and generic nylon filaments; these parameters are the printing temperature, nozzle diameter, layer height, infill orientation and wall line count (or perimeter count). The family of nylon filaments is mainly used for functional 3D printing, especially in replacing aluminium and steel parts, thanks to their mechanical and thermal properties. Furthermore, a polynomial function was fitted to the measured data points, which made it possible to calculate the tensile strength and ductility of the 3D-printed samples based on their printing parameters.
