Appraisal of Mechanical and Tribological Behaviour of Polyamide 6 with Carbon Fibre-Filled Composites Fabricated Through Fused Deposition Modelling

Fused deposition modelling (FDM) is one of the most sought-after techniques in the field of additive manufacturing for the fabrication of polymer composites. This article aims to augment the mechanical and tribological behaviour of polyamide 6 (PA6) reinforced with carbon fibre (CF) composite test samples were fabricated through the FDM process by changing the layer height considering it to be the most significant process parameter. The standard test samples were fabricated with various layer heights (0.08, 0.16, and 0.24 mm) while maintaining the other printing parameters at a fixed setting. Fabricated samples were subjected to hardness, tensile strength, impact strength, and flexural strength tests in addition the pin-on-disc tribometer test for evaluating wear rate and coefficient of friction. During the pin-on-disc experiment, the specimens were subjected to varying applied loads of 5 N, 10 N, 15 N, and 20 N with 1 m/s and 3 m/s as their sliding velocity, responses were recorded. On appraisal of the obtained responses, it was found that the samples with a minimum layer height of 0.08 mm showed better performance in terms of mechanical strength and tribological behaviour. The lower layer height seems to have high interlaminar strength and adhesion between the layers. Thus, the PA6 reinforced with 20 weight percentage carbon fibre composites fabricated through the FDM process by maintaining the layer height at 0.08 mm will be suitable for developing critical components for aerospace and automobile applications.