Characterization of the mesostructure of fused‐deposition acrylonitrile‐butadiene‐styrene materials

Fused‐deposition (FD) is a robotically controlled “fiber” extrusion process that produces a new class of materials with a variety of controllable mesostructural features related to fiber layout and the presence of voids. Mesostructural features of importance to the stiffness and strength of unidirectionally extruded materials were characterized as a function of the processing variables. Samples were made using the Stratasys FDM1600 Modeler with the P400 acrylonitrile‐butadiene‐styrene plastic. Results showed that the void geometry/density and the extent of bonding between contiguous fibers depended strongly on the fiber gap and extrusion flow rate. Settings for minimum void and maximum fiber‐to‐fiber bonding were determined. Void and bond length densities in the plane transverse to the fiber extrusion direction varied from 4 to 16 per cent and 39 to 73 per cent respectively. The results quantify the important mesostructural features as a function of the FD process variables and are expected to find use with other FD materials.