Are 3D Printed Parts Strong & Durable?

PLA or Polylactic Acid is one of the most popular materials that users choose to 3D print on their desktop.

Why do so many people choose PLA as their 3D printing filament?

It offers ease of use at a low cost and best of all, it's quite powerful. Also, PLA allows you to print at a lower temperature without a hotbed, but it has a tensile strength of 7250psi. However, PLA is also biodegradable, i.e. environmentally friendly, but not suitable for transporting heavy loads as it can become brittle. ABS - acrylonitrile, butadiene and styrene
ABS is an advanced engineering material for 3D printing. ABS is a copolymer of acrylonitrile, butadiene and styrene. Widely used in daily necessities and automobiles. It is an engineered material and it is more stable than PLA. But here's the problem. ABS is weaker than PLA when it comes to true tensile strength.

There are other alternatives to 3D printing. For example, there is a type of nylon suitable for 3D printing that is stronger and more durable than PLA or ABS.

Nylon filament is flexible if thin but with excellent adhesion between layers. It has high melting point and low coefficient of friction. Nylon is suitable for applications and various components such as hinges.

polycarbonate, is another powerful 3D printing material is polycarbonate. It offers high toughness, thermal stability and excellent dimensions. It is also ideal as a very strong and functional piece. For example, it is often used in the manufacture of bulletproof glass.

Matching the Design with material and manufacturing method

To ensure that 3D printed parts are powerful enough, you need to make sure they are properly designed and use the correct print settings.
1.    select the appropriate filler pattern. This is the material that is printed inside the print wall. Choosing a strong natural design pattern such as honeycomb or straight will enhance the final 3D part no matter which material you choose.
2.    you need to make sure that the print settings are adequate, as they can affect the final result.

 3.    Finally, choose the correct orientation for your 3D print. You can see that the 3D parts are weakest along the z-axis. Therefore, you need to make sure that the area of ​​the most tense part is not along this axis.

The strength of a 3D printed part is related to its function and the selected material should reflect this.

Infill is a great way to add weight to a 3D piece while increasing the strength of the piece.

There are a variety of filler patterns that can be used to improve the strength of a 3D printed piece, including mesh or honeycomb fillers. But the amount of filling determines the strength.

For standard 3D parts, up to 25% is probably more than enough. For parts designed to withstand weight and impact, a value close to 100% is always better.

Increase the number of walls
Think of 3D printed partial walls as support beams in the home. If a house has only four exterior walls and no support beams or interior walls, anything can cause it to collapse or lose weight.

Similarly, the strength of a 3D printed piece will only exist if there are walls that can support weight and impact. This is exactly why increasing the number of walls in a 3D printed piece can increase the strength of a structure.

This is a much more useful strategy when it comes to more and more 3D printing parts with a larger area.

Increase the wall thickness
The actual wall thickness used for the 3D printed piece will determine how much impact and weight the part will withstand. Thicker walls usually mean a stronger and more durable piece in general. However, there seems to be a point where it is difficult to print 3D printed parts if the walls are too thick.

The best thing about wall thickness adjustment is that the thickness can vary depending on the area of ​​the part. This means that the outside world will most likely not know that you've thickened the wall unless you cut it in half.

In general, very thin walls are very brittle and cannot withstand external weight without collapsing.

In general, walls with a thickness of 1.2mm or more are durable and strong for most materials, but for a higher level of strength, we recommend a maximum of 2mm or more in height.

The strength of the material used to make the 3D part
A 3D printed part can only be as strong as the material from which it is made. However, some materials are much stronger and more durable than others. Therefore, the strength of 3D-printed parts varies greatly

Why use 3D prints?

3D If the printed part is not strong, it is not used as a method of alternative production of many consumables and materials.

But is it strong in the form of metal such as steel and aluminum? This is not a manufacturer!

However, it is useful to design and print a new positive amount of durability with a new piece and receives the amount of durable amount. If they are suitable for small parts and size and thickness, they also have a decent tensile strength. Better than these 3D printed parts can be used to increase global strength and durability.