Experimental study reveals enhanced flexural strength but reduced impact resistance in heat-treated 3D-printed polylactic acid, indicating a trade-off between stiffness and toughness.
This study investigates the effects of annealing temperature on the mechanical properties of fused deposition modelling (FDM) printed polylactic acid (PLA) specimens, with specific focus on flexural strength, stiffness and impact resistance. Four different thermal conditions were used; room temperature (as a control), 90°C, 110°C, and 130°C. Three Point Bending and Charpy Impact tests were carried out to evaluate the mechanical performance of the PLA specimens. Annealed specimens exhibit higher flexural strength and modulus, with the 90°C and 110°C groups achieving around 20% greater strength than the room temperature control samples. The Charpy test results supported this claim, since treated samples showed reduced energy absorption. Additionally, an inverse relationship between stiffness and toughness was prevalent across groups. Results were consistent and within the range of literature values. As demonstrated in the findings, annealing was found to enhance PLA stiffness and strength but simultaneously reduces toughness, highlighting the need for application specific enhancement.
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Generali et al. (2026) studied this question.
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