Structural characteristics of fused deposition modeling polycarbonate material

Rapid prototyping manufacturing techniques provide an avenue for quick and cost effective design assessments leading to shorter design cycles. In addition to providing first-of-a-kind and one-of-a-kind parts, rapid prototyped parts may be used as the actual part. In order for this to occur on a wide-spread basis, material properties of importance to design must be well understood. One pervasive rapid prototyping technique is Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM). A sampling of the basic structural properties of FDM polycarbonate parts as a function of orientation is presented. The results show that repeatable measurements can be made of the ultimate tensile strength and elastic modulus in FDM manufactured polycarbonate parts. The results also show a degradation in strength compared to bulk material properties (30%-53%, depending on orientation) and as manufactured properties as reported by the FDM vendor (36%-63%, depending on orientation).