Optimization of compressive property for the development of triply periodic minimal surface lattice structure on polylactic acid polymeric material

The present study deals with the process optimization of printing parameters for fabricating gyroid TPMS (triply periodic minimal surface) lattice structure incorporated compression samples on the polylactic Acid polymeric material for obtaining the maximum compressive strength. The design of experiments is followed for the process parameter optimization. The experiment was carried out by varying three printing process parameters and four levels such as printing speed (10 mm/sec, 20 mm/sec, 30 mm/sec, and 40 mm/sec), layer height (0.10 mm, 0.15 mm, 0.20 mm, and 0.25 mm), and nozzle temperature (190°C, 200°C, 210°C, and 220°C). The L₁₆ orthogonal array is employed for the experimental procedure and the Taguchi optimization technique is utilized for the optimization of the printing process parameters for obtaining maximum compressive strength for the fabricated gyroid TPMS lattice structure incorporated compression samples. The experimental results confirm that printing speed and layer height have major influence of 57.28% and 30.92% on the compressive properties of the fabricated samples. Based on the regression analysis results, it can be concluded that the proposed mathematical model has observed an error percentage of 2.1% and a good fit has been observed with the experimental results. The macroscopic view of the fractured samples depicts that the sample fabricated at a nominal printing speed of 20 mm/sec and layer height of 0.10 mm has obtained the highest compressive strength and lower buckling during compression test. The optimized combination of printing process parameters for obtaining maximum compressive strength is 20 mm/sec, 0.10 mm, and 210°C.