Material Characterization Analysis of PLA & HTPLA FDM-Sourced Elements with Annealing Procedure and Optimized Printing Parameters

Nowadays there is a trend of development of a number of FDM-sourced elements that have improved the ways for fast prototyping. CAE software technologies enabled sharing of knowledge across different sectors in the industry, there are important research findings in the medical area in which FDM implies an interesting and a rather efficient option for surgical procedure assessment; mainstream PLA has been a matter of various studies trying to understand its behavior to its limits, a heat treatment on PLA materials could allow to have different, and more diverse applications. HTPLA is another variation that deserves attention due to its prospective. This material has proven to expand the availability of PLA to different sectors because of its rather ease printability and higher heat-resistance. This study would assess the properties of neat PLA and HTPLA printed with optimized parameters, in addition of an annealing process that would modify its internal structure. Results suggest that HTPLA can resist higher temperatures and stress changes whilst scoring lower elongation and tensile response degrading. © IEOM Society International.