Mechanical Analysis of Lightweight Constructions manufactured with Fused Deposition Modeling

Additive production techniques have the advantage of manufacturing parts without needing a forming tool. One of the most used additive manufacturing processes is "Fused Deposition Modeling" (FDM) which allows the production of prototypes and end-use parts. Due to the manufacture layer by layer, also complex part geometries can be created in one working step. Furthermore, lightweight parts with specific inner core structures can be manufactured in order to achieve good weightrelated strength properties. In this paper the mechanical behavior of lightweight parts manufactured with the 3D production system Fortus 400mc from Stratasys and the material Polyetherimide (PEI) with the trade name Ultem*9085 is analyzed. The test specimens were built up with different inner structures and building directions. Therefore, test specimens with known lightweight core geometries (e.g. corrugated and honeycomb cores) were designed. A four-point bending test was conducted to analyze the strength properties as well as the weight-related strength properties. Additionally the influence of the structure width, the structure wall thickness and the top layer thickness was analyzed using a honeycomb structure.