Numerical prediction of the porosity of parts fabricated with fused deposition modeling

In this paper, we study the effect of the printing parameters, namely the layer thickness and the strand-to-strand distance, on the porosity of components produced with Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM). The FDM process is based on the extrusion of a melted material through a nozzle, which forms a 3D object, layer by layer from the subsequent deposition of strands. Previous numerical modeling and experimental studies have showed that the cross-section of the strands depends on the printing parameters. Using computational fluid dynamics simulations, we predict the shape of the cross-sections of multiple strands printed next to each other, and we estimate the porosity of the part. The results of this study show that the porosity of the parts produced by FDM can be controlled by adjusting the printing parameters.