Impact of process parameters on material extrusion (MEX) performance and quality of MEX-produced parts

Date

2025-07-01

Author

Alanazi, Abdullah
Karakaya, Şakir
Yildirim, Murat
Rickli, Jeremy L.
Tutuncuoglu, Gozde

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Material extrusion (MEX) is a widely used additive manufacturing process to construct 3D parts in various industries. The productive use of MEX depends on understanding the effect of process parameters on product quality metrics such as dimensional accuracy, mechanical properties, energy consumption, build cycle time, and material utilization, which are crucial for the adoption of additive manufacturing process. To date, the studies in the related literature focus on a limited number of process parameters of MEX, a restricted set of key performance indicators (KPIs) for produced 3D parts, or assume a linear relationship between process parameters and KPIs. This study investigates the impact of process parameters including extrusion nozzle temperature, infill pattern, infill percentage, build orientation, layer thickness, and printing speed on seven KPIs defined for the MEX process: (1) energy consumption, (2) build cycle time, (3) material consumption, (4) mechanical properties, and geometric accuracy based on (5) flatness, (6) thickness deviation, and (7) root mean square (RMS) using non-contact measurement techniques. For this purpose, it employs a systematic experimental design methodology and parametric and non-parametric statistical analysis methods. The insights gained from this study aim to contribute to the parameter optimization of the MEX process for enhanced sustainability and efficiency in additive manufacturing.

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11511/115398

Collections

Department of Industrial Engineering, Article