Establishing the Optimal Infill for Peak Tensile and Compressive Performance of CF Reinforced Polyamide Test Specimens Manufactured through Additive Manufacturing

Abstract

This paper will present the mechanical capacity of 3D printed test specimens, in direct correlation with their infill pattern, that were made from polyamide (also called nylon) reinforced with carbon fibers (in proportion of 20%). Nylon is a flexible, but strong material, and carbon fibers give it increased mechanical strength, which will be shown by the mechanical test’s results. The infill’s density is 50%, which gives enough strength for most prototyping applications and reduces the print time considerably. The geometries of infill tested in this paper are lines, honeycomb and gyroid. Preliminary results showed that the higher the printing temperature, the better the layers weld and bond, thus the mechanical properties increase.