iDECON 2010 International Conference on Design and Concurrent Engineering

Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka (UTeM)

20-21 September 2010

Effect of Build Orientation on FDM Parts: A Case Study for Validation of

Deformation Behaviour by FEA
R.H. Hambali 1,2*, H.K. Celik 1,3, P.C. Smith1, A.E.W. Rennie1
and M.Ucar.4
1

Lancaster Product Development Unit,

Department of Engineering, Lancaster University, Lancaster, UK
*Corresponding Author: Phone: +606-3316002, Fax: 01524 592 777, Email: r.hambali@lancaster.ac.uk
2

Faculty of Manufacturing,
Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka, Melaka, Malaysia
3
Department of Agricultural Machinery,
Faculty of Agriculture, Akdeniz University, TR
4
Department of Mechanical Education,
Faculty of Technical Education, Kocaeli University, TR

bond between subsequent layers of material that build

up to make a part. This behaviour across the layer
boundary is referred to as anisotropic properties in the
part [2, 3, 4]. Many of the available ALT processes
display these anisotropic properties [5, 6, 7], however,
for the purposes of this paper, only the FDM process is
considered.
It is important, within RM design, to verify to some
degree of confidence that a part designed to be
manufactured using ALT will be suitable and fit to
function as intended, prior to committing to
manufacture. One method of doing this is to perform
finite element analysis (FEA) on the part [8]. However,
with FEA it is important to be able to verify whether the
results from the analysis would converge with physical
testing of a part giving accurate and usable results.
Therefore, these experiments test through FEA, the
behaviour of a part produced by the FDM method in
different orientations and therefore with a load applied
parallel and perpendicular to the layer boundary, and
then compare these results to results of physical tests of
the same part with loads applied in the same directions
across the boundary layer. The importance of these
experiments is that the ability to confidently predict the
behaviour of parts manufactured using ALT is
imperative if it is to be accepted as a viable
manufacturing option for end-use parts. Conclusions
from this work are also useful for defining rules and
constraints when designing parts for the FDM process.
Hence, this study is to investigate deformation
behaviour of the ALT parts produced with multiple and
different orientations. It is expected to obtain the value
of the equivalent stress and deformation results of the
brackets via the physical testing and through FEA. Prior
to that, a sequence of testing was conducted to
determine some mechanical properties of the different
oriented parts produced by FDM. Conclusions from this
work are also useful for defining rules and constraints
when designing parts for subsequent creation using
ALTs.

Abstract - Some parts produced using additive layer

technologies (ALT) show non-regular material
properties when a force is applied to the part. This
difference in properties can be attributed to the
orientation in which the part is built. The research in
this paper presents a comparison of material property
data taken from physical tests performed on fused
deposition modelling (FDM) parts built in different
orientations, against simulated testing using finite
element analysis (FEA). The research uses the design
of a simple specimen as a test model for the study for
which both a digital and physical model are produced
and tested. The test is conducted to investigate
deformation behaviour of sample FDM parts
manufactured in different orientations and verify that
FEA analysis can be utilised for design verification of
FDM parts. This work contributes to further research
into development of rapid manufacturing (RM)
computer aided design (CAD) tools, specifically design
analysis and verification tools for RM materials.
Keywords Additive Layer Technologies, FDM, Rapid
Manufacturing, FEA
I. INTRODUCTION
The use of additive layer technologies (ALT) as a
method of manufacturing parts rather than one of simply
producing prototype models has shown great increase in
recent times and processes have consequently shown
some improvements [1]. These improvements make
more feasible the notion of rapid manufacturing (RM)
as a suitable method for producing end-use parts.
However, some processes are still considered too
unreliable in terms of their mechanical property
behaviour. Some processes, including the fused
deposition modelling (FDM) technology, show
mechanical property behaviour that varies dependent
upon whether a load is applied parallel or perpendicular
to the layer boundary. The layer boundary refers to the

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Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka (UTeM)
20-21 September 2010

B. FDM Brackets
For the case study, a bracket was designed to
investigate deformation behaviour. A 3D model of the
bracket was created using SolidWorks 3D parametric
solid modelling software. Three samples of the model
with different orientations were manufactured using the
FDM technology. The bracket material is ABS
(Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene). These brackets were
built on a Stratasys Dimension SST (Soluble Support
Technology) and no post-processing was required as the
supports were dissolved away. The dimensions of the
bracket and the orientations with the axes are presented
in Figure 2.

II. EXPERIMENTAL METHOD

A. Determination of Some Mechanical Properties of the
Different Oriented Parts
It can be seen that in the various loading applications
of the RM parts, especially ALT, manufactured parts
may display different deformation behaviour under the
same loading conditions. The main reason for this can
be explained as the parts do not act with isotropic
material properties because of the different oriented
layer process. Hence it is very important to determine
which orientation could be best for the pre-defined
loading cases for the RM-enabled parts. In this regard, it
could be considered that the orthotropic material model
can be determined and utilised for the evaluation of the
deformation behaviour of the ALT manufactured parts
which are fabricated with different orientations.
In this study, to gain the orthotropic properties of the
layered parts, tensile tests were conducted using the
differently oriented tensile specimens. Test specimens
were manufactured in the three orientations as was the
case with the sample brackets. Five test specimens for
each orientation were fabricated. Standard of
ASTM D 638 was utilised for the specimen geometries.
Figure 1 shows the fabricated test specimens via
Zwick Roell extensometer, all the specimens were
tested to achieve some of the mechanical properties
value. After tensile testing, measurements and
evaluations were realised, with some mechanical
properties also obtained (Table 1).

Fig. 2. The dimensions of the bracket and the orientations

orientatio
with the axes

C. Experimental Setup for Physical Testing of the FDM

Brackets
The brackets were bolted to a fixed steel wall using
M6 8.8 bolts. A 5mm x 5mm steel plate was attached on
the top of the bracket using metal filler and hardener.
The plate was used as a platform for the dial gauge to
measure the deformation of the bracket. A steel hanger
weighing one kilogram was hung from the bracket and
loads of 0.5, 1.0 and 2.0 kg were placed on the hanger.
Increments of 0.5 kg load were applied and every two
minutes of time the reading of the dial gauge was noted
until the bracket cracked or failed. The setup was
repeated for all three different bracket orientations.
Figure 3 shows the setup for the physical testing of the
brackets.

Fig. 1. Manufactured test specimens and dimensions

(ASTM D 638)

Table 1. Some mechanical properties with different orientation

Orthotropic Elasticity
Youngs Modulus X Direction
Youngs Modulus Y Direction
Youngs Modulus Z Direction
Major Poissons Ratio XY
Major Poissons Ratio YZ
Major Poissons Ratio XZ
Density

[MPa]
[MPa]
[MPa]
[-]
[-]
[-]
[kgm-3]

Magnitude
1904.000
2228.000
1822.500
0.157
0.321
0.127
1020.000

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iDECON 2010 International Conference on Design and Concurrent Engineering

Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka (UTeM)
20-21 September 2010

XY
Oriented

Dial Gauge
XZ
Oriented

Bracket
Hanger

YZ
Oriented

Load
Fig. 3. The setup for the physical testing
of bracket test pieces.

D. FEA of the FDM Brackets

Current computing power, numerical methods,
simulation techniques and design software enable
designers/engineers to simulate a variety of complex
and large scale engineering events. The Finite Element
Method (FEM) was developed more by engineers using
physical insight than by mathematicians using abstract
methods. It was first applied to engineering structural
stress analysis problems, the method then started to
connect other engineering disciplines [9]. Nowadays, it
is possible to solve many large scale and complicated
engineering problems in reduced timescales utilising

Boundary Conditions

computers and design software which are based on

numerical methods. On the other hand, although
numerical simulations are one of the best ways to
evaluate approximate results for defined events, it is too
difficult to get real accurate responses due to limitations
and unknown features such as non-linear conditions and
unknown material inner structure. Therefore, some
assumptions have to be made in the simulations based
on such limitations. All evaluations must be conducted
considering real conditions and the assumed conditions
which are in the simulations. Consequently, optimum
solutions may be generated in shortened timescales and
with higher accuracy.
Within the FEA process for the bracket, boundary
conditions were established according to the physical
test conditions. ANSYS Workbench commercial FEM
code was utilised to simulate deformation of the bracket
under the loading case. The orthotropic material
properties were assigned to the bracket considering
orientation directions. The same mesh structure was
used for the loading case of each of the three different
oriented brackets. Linear and static cases were assumed
in the finite element model. Quadratic Tetrahedron
element type was used. Total element number of 21497
and total node number of 35696 were obtained in the
mesh structure of the bracket. After pre-processing
operations the analysis was run and the FEA was
concluded. Defined boundary condition, mesh structure
and the original screen prints of the case are presented
in Figure 4.

Mesh Structure

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iDECON 2010 International Conference on Design and Concurrent Engineering

Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka (UTeM)
20-21 September 2010
Fig. 4.Boundary conditions, mesh structure and simulation prints of the bracket

III. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

According to physical tests and FEA, deformation of
1.80, 6.28 and 2.21 mm were obtained in the physical
test as failure points for XY, XZ and YZ oriented parts
respectively. For the FEA results, deformation of 1.65,
2.95 and 3.03 mm were obtained at maximum loading
conditions for XY, XZ and YZ oriented parts
respectively (Table 2). In the physical test, XY reached
the failure at 17 kg at about 4653 seconds, XZ failed at
31 kg at about 7493 seconds and YZ failed at 32 kg at
about 7662 seconds. These results show that XZ and
XY where the build direction were perpendicular to the
pulling load direction are weaker than YZ where the
build direction was parallel to the pulling load direction.
This case also can be interpreted using stress results of
FEA. The maximum Von Misses stress value was
obtained for the YZ oriented part as 83.47 MPa. These
values demonstrate that the build direction (or
orientation) of the parts is one of the most important
factors for structural components built using ALTs.
If the physical test results are evaluated, a non-linear
material behaviour can be seen. As defined in the
analysis, the FEA results present a linear behaviour
(Figure5). It can be said that the physical test results and
FEA results are overlapping in an acceptable range for
the XY oriented part. However, orthotropic material
model is used in the FEA, there are quite a few
differences between FEA results and physical test
results for XZ and YZ oriented parts. It can be
explained as unpredicted behaviour because of the
non-homogeneous part orientation.

Fig. 5.Graph of Load (kg) versus deformation (mm)

of physical testing and FEA of the brackets
Table 2 : Results of physical test and FEA of the brackets at failure

Bracket orientation
XY direction
(Experiment)
XY direction
(Simulation)
XZ direction
(Experiment)
XZ direction
(Simulation)
YZ direction
(Experiment)
YZ direction
(Simulation)

Max.
load
[kg]

Max.
Deformation
[mm]

Max. Stress
(Von Mises)
[MPa]

17.00

1.80

17.00

1.65

40.32

31.00

6.28

31.00

2.95

78.30

32.00

2.21

32.00

3.03

83.47

In addition, Figure 6 shows the failure that was

observed in the physical testing of the brackets. For XZ
direction and XY direction, the noticeable fracture on
the bracket surrounds the circular hole for the bolt. This
explains that the stress and strain concentrates on that
area. For the YZ direction, the crack appears at the
corner of the bracket and is parallel to the build
direction. This elucidates that there were shear stress
factors that failed the test parts. However, it can be said
that FEA is a good tool for visual investigation for the
failure behaviour of the parts. Notably, if the failure
track of XZ oriented part is investigated, it can be seen
that there is unison between the FEA stress track and
failure track of the XZ oriented bracket.

XY
Oriented

XZ
Oriented

YZ
Oriented

Fig. 6.Failure observation of the brackets

IV. CONCLUSION
As a conclusion, this study demonstrated the
deformation behaviour of the ALT parts produced with
different orientations. In physical testing, it shows that
when the pulling direction is parallel to the build
direction, the parts are stronger but they tend to crack in
a specific place where the shear occurred. The use of
ALTs is quite useful for immediate rapid prototyping
applications but different oriented parts can show
different deformation behaviours. Hence, the orientation

227

iDECON 2010 International Conference on Design and Concurrent Engineering

Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka (UTeM)
20-21 September 2010

REFERENCES

direction of the parts should be chosen according to

boundary conditions.
However, in this study, the results of the FEA,
which was set up with static and linear assumptions,
show a unison for failure track of the brackets, so nonlinear and dynamic FEA can be more suitable for these
kinds of investigations.

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[2]

[3]

ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The authors would like to acknowledge Laser Lines
Ltd for manufacturing the FDM brackets and LPDU for
manufacturing the tensile test specimens. Gratitude is
also extended to: the Universiti Teknikal Malaysia
Melaka and Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia for
the PhD scholarship for RH Hambali; the Engineering
& Physical Sciences Research Council of the UK for the
PhD studentship for PC Smith; and Akdeniz University
in Turkey for supporting the PhD of HK Celik.

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