Page 118 - MSAM-4-3

Materials Science in Additive Manufacturing Sustainable manufacturing composite material optimization

tensile strength of 32.5 MPa, flexural strength of 42.1 MPa, test contributed a further 30 Wh. These findings highlight
and compression strength of 50.2 MPa. In comparison, the importance of implementing effective energy control
sample S2, with 50% higher infill density and a shell to avoid unnecessary power usage during FDM-based
thickness of 1.2 mm, exhibited higher tensile strength impeller manufacturing. The total energy utilized by each
(38.7 MPa), flexural strength (47.8 MPa), and compression sample for testing, 3D printing, and filament preparation
strength (58.6 MPa). The highest mechanical response was ranged from 275 Wh for sample S1 to 345 Wh for sample
observed for sample S3 (80% infill density and 1.6 mm S3, demonstrating the strong correlation between process
shell thickness), with tensile strength of 44.2 MPa, flexural parameters and the overall energy footprint.
strength of 53.2 MPa, and compression strength of 65.1
MPa. This trend indicates that higher infill densities and The wear resistance test revealed a clear inverse
thicker shells enhance load distribution and structural relationship between infill density and wear rate. Sample
integrity, making them suitable for high-performance S1, with 20% infill density, exhibited the highest wear rate of
impeller applications. However, these improvements 0.78 mm³/N·m, confirming that low-density structures are
come at the cost of increased material usage, longer more prone to surface degradation under frictional loads.
print times, and higher energy consumption. As such, Sample S2, with 50% infill density, displayed improved
data-driven optimization becomes essential to balance wear resistance with a wear rate of 0.62 mm³/N·m, while
mechanical performance with sustainability. Table 2 sample S3, with 80% infill density, reported the lowest wear
presents energy consumption at each stage of TPU 95A rate of 0.49 mm³/N·m. These results confirm that higher
impeller manufacturing, including variations in power infill density enhances impeller durability by reducing
consumption during filament extrusion, 3D printing, and surface wear. However, the energy consumption results
mechanical testing. indicate that achieving high wear resistance comes at the
cost of increased power consumption, reiterating the need
Power consumption recorded at each stage of the for AI-driven optimization to attain a balance between
production process revealed that filament extrusion durability and energy efficiency.
required 85 Wh, indicating a significant contribution to
total energy demand. During the 3D printing process, Prediction accuracy of the AI model for tensile strength
energy usage increased with higher infill density and shell was quantified using RMSE, R², MAE, and MAPE. The
thickness, as these required greater material deposition RMSE was 1.05 MPa, indicating that the AI model’s
and longer print times. In particular, sample S1 used 110 tensile strength predictions deviated by ±1.05 MPa from
Wh, sample S2 used 140 Wh, and sample S3 (having the experimental values – an error margin acceptable within
highest infill density) used 180 Wh. The mechanical testing general engineering tolerances but still warranting further
phase, which includes tensile, flexural, and compression refinement. The R² of 0.78 suggests that 78% of the
tests, used an additional 50 Wh, while the pin-on-disc wear variance in tensile strength was captured by the model,

Table 1. Mechanical properties of fused deposition modeling (FDM)‑printed TPU 95A impellers
Sample Layer thickness Infill Shell thickness Tensile Flexural Compression Wear rate
ID (mm) density (%) (mm) strength (MPa) strength (MPa) strength (MPa) (mm /N·m)
3
S1 0.1 20 0.8 32.5 42.1 50.2 0.78
S2 0.2 50 1.2 38.7 47.8 58.6 0.62
S3 0.3 80 1.6 44.2 53.2 65.1 0.49

Table 2. Energy consumption at each stage of TPU 95A impeller production

Process stage Sample Layer thickness Infill Shell thickness Energy
ID (mm) density (%) (mm) consumption (Wh)
Filament extrusion - - - - 85
3D printing S1 0.1 20 0.8 110
S2 0.2 50 1.2 140
S3 0.3 80 1.6 180
Mechanical testing (tensile, flexural, and compression) All samples - - - 50
Wear test (pin-on-disc) All samples - - - 30

Volume 4 Issue 3 (2025) 10 doi: 10.36922/MSAM025200033