Characterising thermal effects on ultimate tensile strength, strain, and tensile modulus by material extrusion of carbon fibre reinforced polyamide 6

We experimentally characterise the effect of layer temperature on the mechanical properties of PA6-CF manufactured by MEX. Ultimate tensile strength (UTS) and tensile modulus was investigated across layer temperatures ranging from 67 °C to 165 °C. UTS increased from 7.55 MPa at 67 °C to 36.04 MPa at 165°, while tensile modulus increased from 1.6 GPa at 67°C to 4.0 GPa at 140 °C. Measurements on a manufactured component show in-process layer temperatures between 88 °C and 123 °C. These findings quantify the attainable performance window and implications for functional component design.