Comparison of Component Properties and Economic Efficiency of the Arburg Plastic Freeforming and Fused Deposition Modeling

The additive manufacturing process Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) is established in the industry for many years. A new, similar process to FDM is the Arburg Plastic Freeforming (APF). The main differences between both processes are the form of the starting material (FDM: Filaments, APF: Conventional granulate) and the material deposition during the layer formation (FDM: Melt strand, APF: fine molten droplets). Since the two processes can be used in similar applications, the aim of this study is to compare both processes in a holistic way. Furthermore, the advantages and disadvantages of the processes are to be highlighted. The systematic comparison between a Stratasys 400mc and the Freeformer 200-3X is divided into the areas of component properties, design limitations and economic efficiency. The material ABS-M30 (Stratasys) is used in both processes. The results show comparable component properties regarding mechanical and optical properties but also differences in design limitations and cost efficiency.