Compressive strength performance of 3D printed PLA/almond shell particles reinforced PLA multi-material composite

The advent of 3D printing has revolutionized the manufacturing landscape, enabling the creation of intricate structures and personalized designs. The use of multi-material polymer composites in additive manufacturing has further expanded possibilities, offering enhanced mechanical properties and advanced functionalities. In the present study, PLA/Almond shell reinforced PLA (PLA/AmdPLA) multi-material composites were developed using Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF) method. The objective of this study is to develop the multi-material and optimize the 3D-Printing Parameters (3D-PP) with respect to Printing Speed (PS), Layer Height (LH), and Printing Temperature (PT), in order to maximize the compressive strength of the composites. The L₁₆ Taguchi orthogonal array was established to systematically study the effects of the 3D-PP on the compressive strength. Through a series of experiments, varying the levels of each 3D-PP, data was collected and analyzed to determine the optimal 3D-PP settings. The results demonstrate that the PLA/AmdPLA multi-material composites achieved its maximum compressive strength when fabricated at a PS of 20 mm/sec, a LH of 0.1 mm, and a PT of 210°C. Furthermore, the findings revealed that the PS and LH significantly influenced the compressive strength, while the PT exhibited moderate effects. The regression analysis results indicate that the compression experiments conducted on the PLA/AmdPLA multi-material composites yielded an error percentage of 4.73%. This suggests a strong agreement between the predicted values obtained from the regression model and the actual experimental results which shows that the model has high accuracy. Therefore, these functional composite materials are recognized for their superior strength, lightweight properties, appealing aesthetics, and sustainable qualities in various consumer applications.