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Experimental Characterization of the Shear Properties of 3D–Printed ABS and Polycarbonate Parts

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Abstract

As 3D printing has increased in popularity, it has become more important to understand the properties and characteristics of the parts being produced. The material properties of 3D printed parts are not equivalent to the bulk properties of the materials used to print them. The nature of 3D printing, with varying raster and build orientations, results in anisotropy of the printed parts. This paper presents the experimental techniques and results for the mechanical characterization of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) and polycarbonate (PC) 3D printed parts to determine the anisotropy of their shear properties. Because of the anisotropy, tensile material properties cannot be used to determine shear properties. Iosipescu shear specimens were manufactured at various print raster ([+45/−45], [+30/−60], [+15/−75], and [0/90]) and build orientations (flat, on-edge, and up-right) to determine the directional properties of both ABS and PC samples. Ten samples of each raster were subjected to loading in a universal testing machine while making use of 2D digital image correlation (DIC) to measure full-field strain on both sides of the specimen. Results for both the ABS and PC materials show that there were measurable differences in the modulus of rigidity between build orientations and significant differences in shear strength. The ABS samples exhibited strong anisotropy as a function of build orientation while the PC samples exhibited strong anisotropy as a function of raster orientation.

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Abbreviations

ABS:

Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene

AM:

Additive manufacturing

CAD:

Computer aided design

CI:

Confidence interval

COV:

Coefficient of variation

DIC:

Digital image correlation

FDM:

Fused deposition modeling

PC:

Polycarbonate

RP:

Rapid prototyping

SMP:

Shape memory polymer

STL:

Stereolithography

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department, University of Florida, 571 Gale Lemerand Dr., MAE-C 134, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA

    S. Rohde, J. Cantrell, A. Jerez, C. Kroese, L. DiSandro, J. Anton, A. Young, D. Steinbach & P. Ifju

  2. Bartram Trail High School, Saint Johns, FL, 32259, USA

    D. Damiani

  3. College of Engineering, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA

    R. Gurnani

Authors
  1. S. Rohde
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  2. J. Cantrell
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  3. A. Jerez
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  4. C. Kroese
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  5. D. Damiani
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  6. R. Gurnani
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  7. L. DiSandro
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  8. J. Anton
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  9. A. Young
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  10. D. Steinbach
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  11. P. Ifju
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Correspondence to S. Rohde.

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Rohde, S., Cantrell, J., Jerez, A. et al. Experimental Characterization of the Shear Properties of 3D–Printed ABS and Polycarbonate Parts. Exp Mech 58, 871–884 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11340-017-0343-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11340-017-0343-6

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