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We recently took a look at a study which measuresthe material properties of ABS and PLA printed on RepRap printersin comparison to parts printed on commercial machines.

研究表明PLA和ABS在重复打印机上打印的零件与在拉伸强度和弹性模量方面与商业机器上印刷的零件相对可比。

As you might guess, however, it’s pretty hard to control the many variables in a study like that and the researchers even noted that not everything could realistically be controlled.

那么，这些变量是什么可以影响印刷零件的产生属性？碰巧我们遇到了another neat experiment这探讨了这个问题，并且一开始就研究了PLA的性能作为材料颜色和填充方向的函数。

Material Property Variables

Successful prints on entry level 3D printers , especially on RepRap and other hobbyist-level printers, are highly reliant on the tuning of the machine as well as the knowledge of the operator. There are many variables that can affect the strength and stiffness of a desired part including:

  • 材料颜色
  • Fill direction
  • Infill perfectage
  • 温度
  • 水分/湿度
  • Load duration (creep) or repetition (fatigue)

Each of these variables can affect the resulting elastic modulus and strength of a part so an operator needs to be meticulous in the control of these variables among many others. As a start in assessing these variables and the impact they have on 3D parts,关于Wikiversity的实验takes a look specifically at the first two variables, material color and fill direction.

测试

In order to measure these two variables, two test plans were developed:

1. 3点弯曲测试（旨在确定材料刚度）

  1. Symmetrically suspend different color PLA beams using empty bins, wooden triangular supports, and a level
  2. 将一张空白的纸固定到水平上，以标记梁的初始位置和偏转

2.测试后2分（旨在确定材料强度）

  1. 钻一个孔到PLA梁的一端
  2. Tie a string through the hole
  3. 用夹具固定光束的另一端
  4. 使用大量重量将力施加到光束上

结果是材料颜色的函数

刚度依赖PLA颜色

测试结果显示以下来自大多数刚性（2.77GPA）至少至（2.55GPA）的结果：

  1. 清除
  2. 发光
  3. Blue
  4. Black
  5. Green
  6. Red

Strength Dependence on PLA Color

关于材料强度，研究人员看到了更大的差异，范围从105MPA到54MPA。这是结果：

  1. Black
  2. Green
  3. 清除
  4. Red
  5. Glow in the dark

结果是填充方向的函数

With regard to fill direction, the experiment shows that beams are about 20% less stiff when printed in the WxH orientation, and equivalent in stiffness when printed in the LxW and LxH orientations.

总之

This is just an initial look at a few of the many variables that play a part in high quality 3D printing. It gives you some information on which build orientations are best for printing with PLA and how different colors perform, but the main point is that there are a lot of variables involved and when it comes to 3D printing, you need to be a master at your craft to print quality parts.

3D打印既是一种艺术，又是科学，也不能仅依靠Makerbot或Reprap Machine打印出优质零件。了解您的科学并实践艺术。想了解更多吗？查看Fictiv Capabilities Guide!