Preliminary investigation of dimensional accuracy of FDM printed part

Additive Manufacturing (AM) technology has advanced over the last decade and becomes a feasible alternative for the traditional subtractive manufacturing technology to create complex shapes. Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) is one the most used processes of AM, whose working principle is consisted in the setting the machine temperature necessary to melt the material and pushing by a nozzle. There are many benefits appear due to the nature of FDM process, as well as several difficulties come from the influence of processing parameters such as: infill density, infill pattern, layer thickness, print speed, platform temperature, extruder temperature etc. on the final properties of the pieces. This project is focused on 3D FDM printed shapes used as a pattern for investment casting and provides experimental studies to analyze the influence of processing parameters on the dimensional accuracy and surface finishing of FDM parts. Previous related works on optimization of FDM process parameters are considered in assessing the effect of varied configurations. The dimensions of the 3D printed patterns are measured and compared with the nominal CAD dimensions using Coordinate Measuring Machine (CMM)