Enhancing Mechanical Properties of FDM-Printed Nylon Through Annealing Heat Treatment and Process Parameter Optimization

This study evaluates the effects of fused deposition modeling (FDM) parameters and annealing on the mechanical properties of 3D-printed nylon. Parameters examined include layer height, wall line count, nozzle temperature, and printing speed. Mechanical tests, tensile, impact, and flexural – were conducted on ASTM-standard specimens using a Taguchi L9 orthogonal array. Layer height had the most influence on tensile and flexural strength, while wall line counts impacted impact strength. The highest tensile strength before annealing was 25.42 MPa, and 25.139 MPa after annealing at 150°C for 91 minutes. Maximum flexural strength (71.91 MPa) and impact strength (16 J) were recorded at optimized parameter settings. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) showed layer height (51.63%) as the most significant post-annealing, and printing speed (36.63%) before annealing. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) analysis revealed improved layer bonding and reduced voids in annealed samples. Unannealed samples showed brittle fractures and poor fusion. The study confirms the importance of process optimization and thermal treatment in improving nylon part performance.