Effects of Size and Surface Treatment on Fatigue Life of Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF) Manufactured Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) Parts
Abstract An experimental study was conducted to investigate the effects of size and surface treatment on fatigue life of fused filament fabrication (FFF) manufactured acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) parts. Moore rotating beam fatigue tests were conducted with four levels of loading to obtain the S-N curves. Two different sizes and three different surface treatment methods (as printed, acetone treated, and sandpaper polished) were studied. The larger specimens had significantly decreased fatigue life because of a larger volume, and hence a great probability of defects for crack initiation and propagation, as compared to the control specimen. The acetone treated specimen had a smooth surface. Its fatigue life, however, decreased significantly because the acetone treatment caused internal damage that weakened the specimen. The sandpaper treated specimen also had a smooth surface, but its effect on the fatigue life was insignificant because the fiber direction on the specimen surface was parallel to the loading direction. The present results lead to a better understanding of the effects of geometric size and surface treatment on fatigue performance of FFF specimens. The study also provides important insights for the design of part size and surface treatment of 3D printed plastic components for fatigue loading applications.