Flexural strength prediction of 3D-printed Nylon-6 polymer by integrating square lattice structure

Lattice structure incorporated on lightweight polymeric components is mostly used in automobile applications. The present study focuses on encompassing flexural behavior of a square lattice structured Nylon-6 samples utilizing the Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) method. The three-point bending test was accomplished using the Universal Testing Machine (UTM) with three supporting points for bending. Taguchi’s experimental design with the four factors and four levels for the L16 orthogonal array determined the significant experimental runs with factors of printing temperature, build orientation, printing speed, and layer height. The flexural strength is analyzed using regression analysis, Signal & Noise ratio, and Analysis of Variance table to identify influenced factors. The optimum combination to obtain higher flexural strength on the Nylon-6 flexural sample is layer height of 0.1 mm, printing temperature of 230℃, Printing speed of 20 mm/s, and build orientation of 0°. The regression analysis determined that the results fit the higher R-square value of 91.4%. The result depicts that the ANOVA table shows the best contribution of the factors to be the build orientation of (28.65%) for the current experimental study. The lattice structure can be implied in applications requiring greater strength with lesser weight so that the study can be utilized to develop lightweight structural components in automobile and aerospace components.