Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) is widely used for its cost-efficiency, design flexibility, and compatibility with advanced materials such as carbon fiber-reinforced polylactic acid (PLA-CF). This study investigates the effects of key FDM parameters layer thickness, nozzle temperature, printing speed, and raster orientation on the flexural strength, density, mass, and printing time of short PLA-carbon fiber PLA-CF components. The experimental design followed the Taguchi method, and mechanical testing was conducted using ASTM D790 three-point bending. Results show that raster orientation and layer thickness had the most significant effects on flexural strength. The optimal parameter combination was 0° raster, 0.1 mm layer, 210 °C nozzle, and 30 mm/s speed yielded the highest mechanical performance 81 MPa, along with increased density and part mass, suggesting stronger internal bonding. However, this configuration also required longer printing time. In contrast, higher layer thickness and faster speeds reduced both time and mass but led to lower strength and density. Printing speed had minimal effect on strength but impacted production efficiency. Statistical analysis using ANOVA and signal-to-noise ratios identified the most influential parameters, and residual plots confirmed model validity, showing normal distribution and constant variance. These findings provide practical insights into optimizing PLA-CF prints for structural applications by balancing mechanical strength with material efficiency and print time.
Layeb et al. (Fri,) studied this question.