Tensile behavior of additively manufactured carbon fiber reinforced polyamide-6 composites

Carbon fiber-reinforced polymer composites have been mainly used for several applications owing to their thermo-mechanical properties. Fused deposition modeling is a rapidly growing additive manufacturing technology owing to its ability to create a functional part with complex geometries. The tensile properties of polyamide-6 and carbon fiber-reinforced polyamide (PA6/CF) composite parts were compared. The influence of printing parameters as feed rate, build orientations, and layer thickness on the tensile characteristics of the printed parts were studied. The tensile properties of the fabricated materials were investigated at the piece scale considered as macroscopic scale and at the filament scale considered as mesoscopic scale. Scanning electron micrography of the fracture surfaces of the specimens revealed the origin of rupture at the microscopic scale. The density of the printed specimens was also compared to correlate the process parameters to the microstructure and therefore mechanical properties of the final part.