Strength and accuracy analysis of thin-walled structures in 3D printing

In recent years, additive manufacturing technology (3D printing) has gained widespread popularity across various industries due to its remarkable capacity for producing intricate structures. However, the construction of its manufacturing often suffers from defects, such as warping, shrinkage, and low dimensional accuracy, which reduces the functionality of 3D printed parts. These issues, particularly, impact the production of thin-walled structures, compromising both accuracy and strength. This paper investigates the quality performance of thin-walled 3D printing models. A total of 27 identical models were crafted using polylactic acid (PLA) material on a low-cost 3D printer. We focused primarily on three factors: layer height, temperature, and printing direction, investigating shrinkage and Z-direction strength within varying conditions. The findings reveal that by adopting higher temperatures and lower layer heights under specific conditions, the 3D printed thin-walled structure made of PLA material can be optimized for shrinkage control and enhanced strength. The distinctions in shrinkage and strength between structures printed in different directions are relatively small, while the variances observed at different model heights are significant.