Paper Title: Effect of surface roughness on the mechanical performance of a 3D printed PLA Component

Author's name: M. Navaneetha Krishnan, Sundar Vettumperumal, Arockia Jayadhass, S. Suresh, C. Vijaya Nanthini S

The well-known additive manufacturing technique, known as Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM), is employed in many different sectors. The main disadvantage of the FDM technique is the increased surface roughness. The laser polishing method has been used to get around the challenge. The laser polishing method may be used to prepare the accurate and smooth FDM component surfaces. In this study, laser polishing was used to refine Polylactic Acid-Aluminum Fibre (PLA-Al fibre) composites made using the FDM process. At various speeds of laser scanning, the polished PLA-Al fibre composite's surface properties and mechanical effects were examined. The results indicate that the surfaces of PLA-Al fiber composites, when polished, exhibit lower surface roughness compared to unpolished samples. Dynamic mechanical analysis revealed an enhanced storage modulus in laser-polished specimens.

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