Multi-material fused filament fabrication: Effect of printing parameters on part distortion

Multi-material additive manufacturing has gained popularity in recent years, with fused filament fabrication (FFF) being one of the prominent technologies used for fabricating multi-material prototypes in diverse fields such as automotive, aerospace, and robotics. However, 3D printed plastic parts are susceptible to distortion due to non-uniform temperature distribution during the printing process. This study aims to investigate the effect of printing parameters on the part distortions of multi-material parts produced using FFF technology. The influence of four key parameters, namely layer thickness, platform temperature, extrusion temperature, and multi-material model, on warpage was systematically studied using Taguchi L8 design of experiment and analysis of variance (ANOVA) techniques. The ANOVA analysis revealed that the platform temperature parameter significantly affects part distortion among the four studied parameters. Optimal levels of printing parameters that minimize warpage were identified through a signal-to-noise (SN) ratio analysis, and it was experimentally confirmed that the part distortion is minimized for samples printed using these optimal parameter levels. The findings of this work were compared and discussed in the context of existing literature. This study contributes valuable insights that can aid in the assessment of FFF technology's application for fabricating multi-material components requiring high dimensional accuracy.