Analysis of Surface Roughness and Strain Durability of Eyeglasses Frames by the 3D Printing Technology

Abstract

Three-dimensional (3D) printer technology has developed rapidly in recent years and therefore has become the focus of attention in many areas. It has begun to be widely used in many areas in industry, medicine, biomedical, engineering, basic sciences, etc. Among these areas, the optician sector has also widely used 3D technology. Offering personalized eyeglass frame design, freedom of color, shape, and size in frames, 3D technology offers many advantages and conveniences for users and manufacturers. In this project, a 3D printer with high precision and consistency was developed, and eyeglass frames were designed and produced using acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) and polyethylene terephthalate glycol (PETG) filament types, different printing temperatures, and layer thicknesses. The surface roughness and the durability of the frames were analyzed by using an optical microscope and performing bending tests, respectively. It was observed that the lowest roughness occurred in the ABS-printed frame with 0.20 mm layer thickness at 240 °C temperature, and the highest durability of 54.7 mε obtained with the ABS-printed frames fabricated with 0.20 mm layer thickness at 235 °C temperature. Average roughness (R_a), root-mean-square roughness (R_q), and maximum height of profile (R_z) parameters were obtained to analyze surface roughness with respect to temperature change for fabricated frames using ABS and PETG filaments. Thus, the study proves that the production and optimization of customized eyeglass frames can be used not only for commercial and educational purposes in optical stores and optician programs at universities but also in industry, engineering, and daily life purposes.