The Influence of Infill Orientation and Surface Machining on the Fatigue Performance of Additively Manufactured Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymer

Abstract

This study aims to investigate the influence of infill orientation and surface machining on the fatigue performance of additively manufactured Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymer (CFRP). SolidWorks software was used for designing the tensile test specimen according to the dimensions of standard ISO 527-2/1A. Then it was additively manufactured with various infill orientations (0,30,45,60 and 90 degrees) using FDM 3D printing. Two sets of specimens were produced. The fatigue life of the first set of specimens was studied to determine how the infill orientation influences the fatigue life of this material. The second set was processed using machining and sanding to alter its surface roughness. The surface roughness values of both sets were measured which showed that the surface roughness of specimens generally decreased after processing. Then fatigue life of the processed specimens was also studied. Finally, the fatigue performance results of original and processed specimens were compared to study how the fatigue performance of this material is influenced after processing. Specimens with 90-degrees infill orientation survived the highest number of fatigue cycles for both original and processed specimens.