Study of geometric texture on tensile properties of PLA polymer parts produced by FDM

In this study, it is aimed to analyse the effects of texture geometries on mechanical response of polylactic acid (PLA) parts manufactured through fused deposition modeling (FDM). Experimental mechanical analyses of PLA samples with hexagonal, circular, square, full, triangle and ellipse geometries were carried out and their tensile responses were examined. Result show that the full geometry exhibited that the full geometry exhibited the highest tensile strength (36 MPa) and deformation capacity (3.1%), making it ideal for applications requiring maximum load-bearing capacity. However, the elliptical geometry demonstrated strength (28 MPa) and deformation capacities close to the full structure, offering a practical balance between mechanical performance, material savings, and production efficiency. Other geometries, such as hexagonal, circular, and square, provided moderate performance suitable for lightweight designs. X-ray tomography was used to analyse internal structures, manufacturing quality, further supporting the correlation between geometric design and mechanical properties. These findings highlight the potential for optimizing material usage and production time without significantly compromising mechanical performance in 3D-printed PLA components