Termomechanical analysis of 3D printing specimens (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene)

In the present work the thermomechanical properties of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) were evaluated at ambient and higher temperatures. The test specimens were previously modeled in a computer aided design (CAD) program (SolidWorks) with standardized dimensions according to the D638 Standard of the American Society for Testing Materials (ASTM) (ASTM in D638-10 Standard Test Method for Tensile Properties of Plastics, 2012). These models were exported to computer aided manufacturing (CAM) software for later 3D printing. The 3D printer used is based on fused deposition modeling (FDM) technology. The impressions were configured with a distance of 0.3 mm between layers and angles of 45° and 135° from the horizontal axis. Experimental tests were performed at a speed of 10 mm/min on a universal testing machine (Shimadzu AG-I) with the aid of a support and control system for the band-type electrical resistance, that was used as a heat source, as well as an infrared pyrometer to make temperature measurements during the tensile test. Finite element analyses were performed with the help of the ANSYS software using the SolidWorks generated model, which was imported with the file format*. IGS for further study. The results obtained from the experimental tests and numerical simulations differ, because the Poisson´s ratio and the coefficient of thermal expansion remained constant for the numerical analyses.