Relationship between deposition strength and cross-section morphology of a material extrusion-type 3D printing manufactured article

Material extrusion (ME)-type printing is the most popular among the 3D printing processes because it is easy to operate, economical, and can be performed for a variety of materials. In this study, the cross-section morphology of a ME-type 3D printing manufactured specimen was observed, and the relationship between cross-section morphology and deposition strength was analyzed. The materials used in this study were acrylonitrile-butadien-styrene (ABS), polylactic acid (PLA), and polycarbonate (PC), and the cross-section morphology for various nozzle temperatures was observed using an optical microscope and a scanning electron microscope. The cross-section morphology of a 3D printing manufactured specimen consisted of vertical and horizontal neck lengths, which were the interfaces between roads and air holes, where the roads were unoccupied regions. It was observed that the neck length and air hole density were dependent on the nozzle temperature and material property. The lowest and the highest air hole density were observed in the PLA and ABS specimen, respectively. Neck length and air hole density were directly related to nozzle temperature. A higher nozzle temperature provided a longer neck length and a lower air hole density. The deposition strength increased as the neck length increased, and the air hole density decreased.