80 Int. J. Rapid Manufacturing, Vol. 10, No.

1, 2021

Impact of processing parameters on fatigue life of

fused filament fabricated parts: application of central
composite design and genetic algorithm tools

Boppana V. Chowdary* and

Aaron Alleyne Bobb
Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering Department,
University of the West Indies,
St. Augustine Campus, Trinidad and Tobago
Email: Boppana.Chowdary@sta.uwi.edu
Email: aaronbobb41@gmail.com
*Corresponding author

Abstract: Generally, components tend to fail due to cyclic loading; therefore

study of fatigue life of products is a critical issue. The purpose of this study is
to develop a predictive model relating the process parameters with fatigue life
of fused filament fabrication (FFF) technology-based 3D-printed parts. Test
specimens are printed using a desktop FFF 3D printer to suit a laboratory-based
fatigue testing machine. Response surface methodology-based central
composite design method was used for the design of experiments to obtain a
regression model for prediction of response. Lastly, genetic algorithm solver
was used to optimise the predictive model results. Number of contours, layer
thickness and raster width were found to have a significant effect while raster
angle had very little effect on the fatigue life of FFF-based 3D printed parts. In
addition, it was observed that there is a high significant interaction between
layer thickness and raster width of the FFF specimens.

Keywords: additive manufacturing; fused filament fabrication; FFF; polylactic

acid; PLA; fatigue life; genetic.

Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Chowdary, B.V. and

Bobb, A.A. (2021) ‘Impact of processing parameters on fatigue life of fused
filament fabricated parts: application of central composite design and genetic
algorithm tools’, Int. J. Rapid Manufacturing, Vol. 10, No. 1, pp.80–104.

Biographical notes: Boppana V. Chowdary is a Professor and the Deputy

Dean Faculty of Engineering at The University of the West Indies. His research
interests include CAD/CAM, product design and development, additive
manufacturing, flexible manufacturing systems, simulation of manufacturing
systems, design of virtual cellular manufacturing systems, and performance
evaluation of manufacturing systems.

Aaron Alleyne Bobb is a teaching assistant at the University of the West Indies.
He earned his BSc. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of the West
Indies, St. Augustine. His research interests include material science and design
for manufacturing and additive technologies.

Copyright © 2021 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.

 Impact of processing parameters on fatigue life 81

1 Introduction

Recent years have witnessed an exponential growth of the additive manufacturing (AM)
technology which was initially developed as a visualisation and validation tool. The
recent advancement in this technology like fused deposition modelling (FDM),
stereolithography (SLA) and selective laser sintering (SLS) make it suitable to produce
moulds as well as functional parts. It is important to note that FDM is a commercial name
used by the Stratasys for the 3D printing machines that they manufacture and supply
globally. 3D printers made by other companies that use the AM technology are fall under
fused filament fabrication (FFF) type machines. FDM is a 3D printing process, where a
thermoplastic filament is partially melted and extruded by a heated nozzle, and deposited
layer by layer on a build platform (Sood et al., 2009). Many different filament materials
are available, with acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), nylon, polycarbonate (PC),
polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polypropylene and polylactic acid (PLA) being the
most common ones. Owing to its special processing technology, FDM shows great
advantage in manufacturing biodegradable components from various polymers,
especially with PLA (Pang et al., 2010).
Even though the FDM process has been purported as a revolutionary achievement for
manufacturing applications, standardisation for the mechanical forces of 3D printed parts
is a complex task. Because the same part can exhibit different mechanical characteristics
when produced in different build orientations (Ali and Chowdary, 2019; Mallian and
Chowdary, 2020). Therefore, estimating processing parameters according to the goal is
required to ensure the correct function of the objects as well as withstand the mechanical
forces.
Further, FDM is a process oriented production technique with use of thermoplastic
materials. Currently, more research is being conducted in thermoplastics area as they are
finding applications where engineered plastics can replace their metal counter parts such
as bearings, shafts, impellors, etc. A common problem of mechanical failure of such
components is fatigue, which is a failure due to repeated loading (Dowling, 2013). This
involves the application of a load to the fixed end of the material where it will experience
a cyclic stress as it rotates alternating between tension and compression. On the other
hand, the generation of long-term data is particularly important for thermoplastic
materials as their properties are time and temperature dependent (Ahn et al., 2002).
Plastics have transformed everyday life; usage is increasing tremendously and to address
the rising consensus on the potential eco-toxicological impacts of these materials,
bio-plastics have added remarkable focus (Jem and Tan, 2020).
Within the thermoplastics, PLA possesses both bio-based and biodegradable
properties, which has been commonly applied in many disposable packaging of products.
As per Jem’s theory, the global demand for PLA material doubles every 3–4 years. The
popularity of PLA bio-polymer is primarily owing to its wide range of advantages, such
as recycling ability after use by remelting, lower carbon footprint, and low landfill
volumes. Since the cost of production for PLA materials are decreasing, thus PLA may
find applications in manufacturing of a wide variety of products such as film, foamed
articles, drug delivery and paper coatings (Pang et al., 2010).
Imeri et al. (2018) found that load and material interactions were important for
improvement of the fatigue life of components and emphasised the need for more
investigations for better understanding of part properties to support the modern industry
82 B.V. Chowdary and A.A. Bobb

operations. In another study, Chen et al. (2020) stated the industrial trends in the
utilisation of desktop FFF printers and underlined the importance of PLA and ABS-based
polymer materials and to do more research in the area. Mohammed and Chowdary (2020)
investigated the cause and effects of part defects in ABS-based samples using a desk top
FFF 3D printer. The parameters that were investigated include build orientation, infill
pattern, number of contours, air gap, road width and annealing as a post-processing
parameter. In conclusion the study shown stress relief annealing is an effective means of
increasing the compressive strength of the printed part.
There were studies focussed primarily on investigation of the influence of FDM
process parameters on mechanical behaviour of parts for static applications, however,
dynamic properties such as stiffness, modulus of elasticity and fatigue life have been
explored in limited number of studies (Munguía et al., 2011; Mohamed et al., 2016a,
2017; Imeri et al. 2018). This forms the basis to conduct the current research for
development of a predictive model relating the process parameters with fatigue life of
FFF technology-based 3D printed parts. Moreover, combining PLA with other bio-
plastics will play a critical role for manufacturing a sustainable and environmental
friendly plastic product, especially for single-used products demanding fast degradation
at room temperature or in the environment. Further, PLA was proven to be the material
for testing due to its low-cost and strong mechanical properties (Pang et al., 2010), thus
the PLA is focus of this research.
The rest of the paper is organised as follows: A review of the literature on the
manufacturing of FDM samples and optimisation of FDM parameters is presented in
Section 2. Information about the experiments carried and the tests conducted for the aim
of measuring the fatigue life is presented in Section 3. The results and discussion on the
optimised parameters is presented in Section 4. The research is concluded in Section 5
followed by the future work directions.

2 Literature review

Several studies have focussed on optimisation of FDM process parameters for longevity
of objects through characterisation of 3D printed materials. In this regard a
comprehensive summary of the reviewed literature in terms of the materials tested,
selected process parameters and performance measures used can be seen in Table 1.
Sood et al. (2009) investigated the effects of process parameters on the part
dimensional accuracy using Taguchi design approach. The study adopted the Grey
Taguchi method to transform the multiple responses into a single measure which was
called as grey relational grade (GRD). The main drawback of the proposed approach is
not able to handle the nonlinear relationships among the response and the associated
process parameters (Mohamed et al., 2017).
Munguía et al. (2011) studied fatigue life prediction of AM parts stated as a tedious
process, due to lack of relevant material information and contrastable experimentation in
the field. Further, it was observed that for the specimens subjected to fatigue, there was a
significant increase in temperature which caused fatigue fracture. Moreover, the samples
designed for testing are based on typical metal standards and conducted testing at
frequencies no greater than 3 Hz. However, in practice the testing should be done at high
frequency. Additionally, Munguía et al. (2011) observed that air gap has a significant
impact on the FDM process. This effect was found in terms of voids within cross section
 Impact of processing parameters on fatigue life 83

of specimens which will reduce the overall strength of objects as well as induce fatigue
rupture in the areas with substantial air gap concentration.
Table 1 Summary of literature in terms of materials, performance measures and process
parameters selected

Study Material(s) used Performance measure(s) Study parameters

Chen et al. Carbon fibre, Kevlar, Tensile strength Orientation and infill
(2020) and fibre glass percentage
Beharry and Polyethylene Flexural strength Layer thickness, infill
Chowdary terephthalate, percentage and raster angle
(2020) polyethylene
terephthalate glycol
and polycarbonate
Mallian and ABS Build time, material Raster width, raster angle,
Chowdary consumption and part orientation and layer
(2020) torsional stress thickness
Mohammed ABS Compressive strength Build orientation, infill
and Chowdary pattern, number of contours,
(2020) air gap, road width and
annealing
Ali and Poly-carbonate (PC) Natural frequency Raster angle, air gap, build
Chowdary orientation, number of
(2019) contours
Özgür et al. ABS Fracture and tensile Build orientation
(2017) strength
Imeri et al. Carbon fibre, Kevlar, Fatigue life Fibre orientation, infill type,
(2018) and fibre glass and material composition
Sandeep et al. ABS Build time Build orientation, layer
(2017) thickness, air gap, contour
width, raster angle, raster
width
Mohamed et al. PC-ABS Dynamic stiffness, Layer thickness, air gap,
(2017) dimensional accuracy raster angle, build
orientation, road width,
number of contours
Azhar et al. ABS P400 Dimensional accuracy Raster angle, air gap, raster
(2017) width
Hanyin et al. ABS Tensile strength, fatigue Build orientation
(2017) life
Jerez-Mesa PLA Fatigue life Layer thickness, fill density,
et al. (2017) nozzle diameter, printing
velocity
Mohamed et al. PC-ABS Dynamic modulus and Layer thickness, air gap,
(2016a) glass transition road width, and number of
temperature contours
Mohamed et al. PC-ABS Dimensional accuracy Layer thickness, air gap,
(2016b) build orientation, raster
width, raster angle, number
of contours
84 B.V. Chowdary and A.A. Bobb

Table 1 Summary of literature in terms of materials, performance measures and process

parameters selected (continued)

Study Material(s) used Performance measure(s) Study parameters

Noon et al. PC Surface roughness and Layer thickness, air gap,
(2015) dimensional accuracy raster width, part
orientation and deviational
tolerance
Alberto and N/A Surface roughness Deposition angle
Bottini (2015)
Sophia et al. ABSplus P430 Tensile strength, Build orientation
(2015) fatigue life
Ashu et al. ABSplus P430 Surface roughness, Build orientation
(2015) dimensional accuracy
Durgun and ABSplus P430 Production cost, tensile Raster angle, build
Ertan (2014) strength, flexural orientation
strength
Rayegani and ABS Tensile strength Layer thickness, air gap,
Onwubolu raster width, raster angle,
(2014) part orientation
Ali et al. (2014) PC Build time, material Slice height, road width,
consumption and raster angle, number of
surface roughness contours, air gap
John and ABSplus P430 Fatigue life, tensile Build orientation
Huang (2013) strength
Munguía et al. ABS Fatigue life Air gap
(2011)
Agnes and Ultem*9085 Tensile strength Build orientation, raster
Schöppner angle, air gap, raster width,
(2011)
Panda et al. ABS P400 Tensile, flexural and Layer thickness, build
(2009) impact strength orientation, air gap, raster
angle, raster width

A common cause of material fracture is fatigue, which is due to application of repeated

loading (Dowling, 2013). Lee and Huang (2013) investigated the effects of fatigue on
FDM prototyped ABS materials. In this study, all the samples were tested in uniaxial
tension and retraction between controlled minimum and maximum force levels with the
maximum force being 50 kN. The study found that the build orientation had a significant
impact on fatigue life.
Durgun and Ertan (2014) studied how build orientation and raster angle affect the
tensile strength of FDM parts. The parts were constructed of ABS material and tests were
conducted under ISO-ANSI standards. It was found that smaller raster angles enhance
strength of the samples and the part orientation was more critical as well as optimal
mechanical properties were achieved in horizontal direction of the specimen.
Ziemian et al. (2012) also looked at fatigue life of ABS parts fabricated through the
FDM process and raster orientation was selected for investigation. Taguchi design
approach was followed to conduct the experiments and analysis of results was done using
a two-way ANOVA technique. The specimens were loaded until fracture to obtain the
mean ultimate tensile stress (UTS). The testing was performed at room temperature and
 Impact of processing parameters on fatigue life 85

cyclic loading was applied at 0.25 Hz to reduce the possibility of localised heating effects
due to hysteresis. Findings indicated that the specimens displayed the anisotropic
behaviour and are greatly influenced by the orientation of the layered raster. In addition,
it was found that the +45/-45° specimens had the longest fatigue life compared to the
other oriented specimens.
Noon et al. (2015) demonstrated optimisation of process parameters with the intention
of fabricating parts with high surface finish and dimensional accuracy. The process
parameters including, layer thickness, air gap, raster width, part orientation, and
deviational tolerance, were selected for optimisation. The study concluded that deviation
tolerance has a significant impact on the 3D printed part just as much as the more
commonly known parameters such as layer thickness and raster width.
Killi et al. (2015) highlighted various design issues when considering the use of AM
process in development of new products or improvement of existing products. Moreover,
the study proposed a novel approach called adapt, integrate, compensate, elongate
(AICE) to underline the designer’s role in execution of product development projects
with AM technology as a decision support tool.
Fernandez-Vicente et al. (2015) targeted for evaluation of constraints associated with
the printing of complicated part geometries that contain angles, overhangs and bridges by
means of a desktop FFF 3D printer. It was shown a strong influence of the design
thickness in the correct printing of the part geometry particularly the part designs with
critical angles. In conclusion the study identified the capabilities and limitations of
desktop FFF 3D printing technology for fulfilment of the current manufacturing
applications.
Imeri et al. (2018) analysed the fatigue properties of fibre-reinforced additively
manufactured specimens to assess the effect of fibre orientation, infill type, and material
composition on fatigue life. The study concluded that load and material interactions
played a key role in enhancement of the part fatigue life.
Zhang et al. (2019) tested the fatigue life of ABS parts produced by a FDM machine.
The study noted that due to a fast rotation speed which was set at 3,000 rpm (50 Hz), the
samples had not experienced any melting. Further, it was found that 100% infill pattern
resulted in low growth rate of fatigue cracks. Jerez-Mesa et al. (2017) studied the fatigue
life of FDM produced PLA parts and looked at how the layer thickness, nozzle diameter,
fill density and printing velocity affects the fatigue life of the specimens. The study found
that the fill density, and layer thickness had the most significant effect on the fatigue life.
Mallian and Chowdary (2020) focused on enhancement of build time, material
consumption and torsional stress with the help of a desktop FFF system. This was
accomplished by developing a multi-objective model by including various process
parameters such as raster width, raster angle, part orientation and layer thickness. The
study found that part orientation and layer thickness had a significant impact on the
selected process responses. Furthermore, the study noticed high layer thickness combined
with low orientation angle had a positive impact on the build time and material
consumption.
Chen et al. (2020) examined the impact of fibre orientation on the tensile strength of a
part produced by a fibre-reinforced AM process. Beharry and Chowdary (2020)
compared the flexural strength of recycled polyethylene terephthalate (RPET),
polyethylene terephthalate glycol (PETG) and polycarbonate (PC) with varying layer
thickness, infill pattern and raster angle. It was found higher infill percentage resulted in
86 B.V. Chowdary and A.A. Bobb

higher flexural strength, whereas raster angle had the least significance impact on the part
flexural strength. Further, it was noted that the relatively high flexural strength of the
RPET indicates great progress towards creating a strong and sustainable 3D printing
filament. However, in both studies a desktop FFF type 3D printer was used as the test bed
and thus industry sought more research to deduce the capabilities and limitations of the
FFF-based 3D printers for customised industrial applications.
Chowdary and George (2020) proposed a novel data-driven method for evaluation of
specimens printed by means of a FFF technology-based 3D printer. The study identified
five critical design features of an automotive air filter model selected for assessment of
design complexity. Build time and dimensional accuracy were selected as responses. The
research concluded that the proposed design complexity assessment approach has
capability to reduce build time and subsequent fabrication cost by 10% when compared
to the traditional approach.
Based on the summary of literature (Table 1 refers) it can be concluded that there are
several parameters that may affect the FDM process and about 18 of them are critical in
terms of the properties of the printed samples. These process parameters include part
build orientation, feed rate, filament material and dimensions, environment temperature,
extruded temperature, line width compensation, flow rate, infill speed, plate temperature,
colour of filament, contour width, air gap, number of contours, infill pattern, raster width,
raster angle, and layer thickness. Among these parameters, layer thickness, raster angle,
raster width and number of contours are the main processing factors that have been
investigated in the most of the previous researches about optimisation of part quality (Ali
and Chowdary, 2019). Therefore, these four parameters were considered for investigation
in the present study.
In conclusion, the reviewed literature in the area of FDM process can be summarised
as follows:
• The influence of the different process parameters on the mechanical behaviour of the
parts has been previously considered for static situations, but so far, dynamic
properties such as fatigue resistance have not been explored adequately (Jerez-Mesa
et al., 2017).
• More systematic experimental study sought to quantify the effect on the fatigue life
of PLA parts due to the joint effect of various manufacturing variables (Ezeh and
Susmel, 2018).
• Load and material interactions were important for improvement of the fatigue life of
components (Imeri et al., 2018). Thus, there is a need for more investigations in the
AM area in order to gain more insights on how to improve fatigue life of parts
constrained by dynamic loads.
• It was noted that there has so far been only limited research on the fatigue behaviour
of 3D printed PLA material to assess which printing parameters result in the most
favourable fatigue life (Lauren et al., 2019). Therefore, there is a need for more
empirical-based fatigue studies to understand how the previously identified FDM
process parameters affect the fatigue behaviour.
• The manufacturing of ready to use parts using FDM is a challenging task. Thus, the
selection of printing parameters for the FDM process. Thus, it can dramatically
affect the dynamic behaviour of rotational parts (Zhang et al., 2020).
 Impact of processing parameters on fatigue life 87

• Upward industrial trends in the utilisation of desktop FFF printers with PLA and
ABS-based polymer materials for fulfilment of the contemporary industry needs
(Chen et al., 2020) can be seen in the literature.
As a unique contribution to the body of knowledge, this study verifies that the response
surface methodology (RSM)-based central composite design (CCD) which is a powerful
technique for optimising the process parameters to study the fatigue life of FFF
technology oriented PLA components. Further, this research investigates the joint
influence of process parameters, namely, layer thickness, raster angle, raster width and
number of contours on the fatigue life of PLA. There are numerous methods used in the
past to optimise FDM process such as Taguchi method, grey relational, fuzzy logic,
genetic algorithm (GA) and others (Ali and Chowdary, 2019). In this research, for the
response optimisation, authors proposed the GA tool to determine the critical factors and
the suggested optimal values. Further, Minitab and MATLAB software aid for analysis
and decision-making. The optimised parameter set was verified through validation
experiments by printing additional PLA samples. The outcome of this study can provide a
viable alternative for production of fatigue resistant components.

3 Research methodology

The steps followed to conduct the study are explained below:

Step 1 Initially, a review of literature was conducted to identify research gaps in the
area of FDM technology.
Step 2 Then the literature was analysed to:
1 select various process parameters
2 identification of testing methods
3 choose tools and techniques that should be taken into consideration for
optimisation of process parameters.
Step 3 RSM-based CCD approach was deployed to plan design of experiments (DOE).
Step 4 Performance tests were carried to study the influence of the selected process
parameters on fatigue life of PLA specimens. After testing of the samples, the
data was recorded and stored for subsequent analysis.
Step 5 The collected data was analysed using Minitab software to establish a
relationship between the factors and response.
Step 6 Then the regression equation was written in a MATLAB script to perform the
optimisation. The variables in the equation were given lower and upper bounds
and the optimiser ran until it determined ideal settings which produced the
highest fatigue life.
Step 7 After optimal parameter settings were achieved, additional samples were printed
to perform validation runs to observe improvement in the fatigue life.
88 B.V. Chowdary and A.A. Bobb

3.1 Experimental setup and response measurement

The RSM-based CCD method was used to reduce the number of experiments carried out.
As stated in literature, the CCD is a popular DOE method because it requires only a
fraction of all the possible combinations from a full factorial. A full factorial approach for
the four parameters at five levels would mean that 625 (54) runs should have been
executed. CCD, however, reduced this number to 31 runs for which accurate results
would still be achieved. The 31 points were comprised of factorial points (2k) + star
points (2*k) + centre points, where k represents the number of parameters, which was 4,
while the centre points were set at 7.

Figure 1 Experimental setup, (a) TecQuipment overview (b) TecEquipment specimen chamber
(c) Zeiss ICM 405 microscope (d) flash magnifier (e) versatile data acquisition (VDA)
system software (f) test specimen (g) print job setup in Cura software
(see online version for colours)
 Impact of processing parameters on fatigue life 89

Figure 1 Experimental setup, (a) TecQuipment overview (b) TecEquipment specimen chamber
(c) Zeiss ICM 405 microscope (d) flash magnifier (e) versatile data acquisition (VDA)
system software (f) test specimen (g) print job setup in Cura software (continued)
(see online version for colours)

(e)

(f)

(g)
90 B.V. Chowdary and A.A. Bobb

Figure 2 Internal structure of the model showing various process parameters (see online version
for colours)

Figure 3 (a) A schematic view of Ultimaker FDM machine (b) Specifications (see online version
for colours)

Print area: 9 × 8.85 × 9 inches (23 × 22.5 × 23 cm)

Print surface: Heated glass

Layer size: 0.2 mm to 0.02 mm

Print technology: Fused filament fabrication (FFF)

Compatible filament diameter: 2.85 mm

Power input: 100–240 VAC, 50–60 Hz

(a) (b)
The process parameters selected for testing were number of contours, layer thickness,
raster angle and raster width, as they were found to be key process parameters in previous
studies (Table 1). As per ISO 13003 standard four levels were chosen for testing. The
information was then transmitted into Minitab to create the DOE matrix. The CCD tool
available in Minitab software was used to generate the DOE matrix. The factors and their
associated levels were selected and listed in Table 2. The experimental schematic
showing the test equipment, specimen design, and print job set-up can be seen in
Figure 1. For providing more clarity to the reader, the internal structure of the model
showing various FDM process parameters is depicted in Figure 2. SolidWorks program
was used to generate the CAD model of the specimen and Ultimaker Cura 3.2.1 software
 Impact of processing parameters on fatigue life 91

was used to prepare the print job. Further, samples were manufactured using an FDM
system from Ultimaker, where the filament used was PLA. A schematic view of the
machine with specifications can be seen in Figure 3. The air gap and infill were set as 0
and 100% respectively. Other printing parameters were set as default and can be seen in
Table 3.
Table 2 Factors and levels included in DOE

Factors and coding of levels –2 –1 0 +1 +2

Number of contours (A) 1 2 3 4 5
Layer thickness (mm) (B) 0.20 0.25 0.30 0.35 0.40
Raster angle (deg) (C) 0° 30° 45° 75° 90°
Raster width (mm) (D) 0.20 0.25 0.30 0.35 0.40

The specimen shape chosen for testing was of cylindrical in order to be compatible with
the rotating fatigue test equipment. For proper mounting of the samples on the testing
machine, all printed samples were post-processed using sand paper. During fatigue
testing, based on a preliminary study, the frequency of the machine and load were held
constant for all experiments at 5 Hz and 0.4–0.8 N, respectively. For observing various
errors such as air gap and impurities in the fractured samples, flash magnifier and Zeiss
ICM 405 microscope were used.
Table 3 Default print settings

Build orientation 90°

Layer thickness 0.20 mm
Raster width 0.35 mm
Printing temperature 220°C
Number of contours 4
Raster angle 45°
Nozzle diameter 0.40 mm
Infill pattern Zig-zag

4 Analysis of data, experimental results and discussion

4.1 Preliminary investigation

Using the default print settings (as shown in Table 3), six PLA samples were printed as
per the test equipment specifications. Out of the six specimens printed, the first four were
tested at the lowest load of 0.4 N to identify repeatability for experiments. The samples
varied from lowest 350 to highest 5,300 cycles to failure. The load was then increased to
5 N for the fifth (next) sample where it took only 7 cycles before failure. For the final
sample, the load was reduced to 1 N where the number of cycles to failure was found as
290. Therefore, it was determined that the experiments were to be carried out at 0.4 N, as
this load will present the most data to be analysed. The preliminary investigation results
are shown in Table 4.
92 B.V. Chowdary and A.A. Bobb

Table 4 Results from preliminary testing

Sample no. Load (N) No. of cycles to failure

1 0.4 2,050
2 0.4 5,300
3 0.4 351
4 0.4 3,000
5 1 295
6 5 7

Table 5 Experimental design matrix and results

Factor/values
Run Fatigue life (number of cycles to failure)
A B C D
1 3 0.30 45° 0.30 92
2 4 0.35 30° 0.25 657
3 4 0.25 30° 0.35 265
4 2 0.25 30° 0.35 25
5 3 0.20 45° 0.30 970
6 3 0.30 45° 0.30 172
7 3 0.30 45° 0.30 110
8 3 0.40 45° 0.30 584
9 4 0.35 75° 0.25 654
10 2 0.35 75° 0.25 889
11 4 0.35 75° 0.35 75
12 3 0.30 90° 0.30 35
13 1 0.30 45° 0.30 101
14 3 0.30 45° 0.30 127
15 4 0.25 75° 0.25 263
16 3 0.30 45° 0.20 1,279
17 5 0.30 45° 0.30 432
18 2 0.25 30° 0.25 185
19 3 0.30 45° 0.30 165
20 4 0.35 30° 0.35 88
21 3 0.30 45° 0.30 124
22 2 0.35 30° 0.35 180
23 3 0.30 45° 0.40 41
24 2 0.25 75° 0.25 131
25 4 0.25 75° 0.35 333
26 2 0.25 75° 0.35 170
27 2 0.35 75° 0.35 58
28 3 0.30 45° 0.30 278
29 3 0.30 0° 0.30 112
30 4 0.25 30° 0.25 546
31 2 0.35 30° 0.25 1,143
 Impact of processing parameters on fatigue life 93

4.2 A summary of data analysis

The experimental data as shown in Table 5 was evaluated by performing analysis of
variance (ANOVA) using Minitab 17. ANOVA approach was selected to determine the
effect of each experimental factor on the fatigue life of specimens as well as to identify
the relationships present between these factors. Further, the selected ANOVA approach
demonstrates which factors will be significant that accurately generates regression
equation for predicting the fatigue life. In fact, this resulted in the factor, raster angle,
being removed from all terms within the generated regression equation to better predict
the fatigue life. Further, the improved regression equation was selected to develop the
MATLAB® script and used as the optimisation tool to run the GA. Furthermore, each
experimental variable was assigned lower and upper limits and the GA solver executed
until the optimal parameter settings were found.

4.3 Development of main effects and interaction plots

The main effects plots were developed to establish the individual significance and trends
of each parameter. Further, thee interaction plots were then developed to compare the
performance between parameters. These plots are shown in Figures 4 and 5 and further
explained in the following sections.

4.3.1 Main effects plots

The main effects plot for layer thickness [Figure 4(a)] initially shows a decreased fatigue
life for an increasing layer thickness. This can be seen by the relatively steep decline
from 0.2 mm to 0.25 mm. However, this is followed by an increasing trend which is
concurred with study of Jerez-Mesa et al. (2017).
The main effects plot for number of contours shows that increasing the number of
contours, also increases the fatigue life [Figure 4(b)]. The second point peaked slightly
higher than the third point which was an anomaly in the trend. However, it should be
noted that both these points had a small variation from the mean line. Therefore, having
two or three contours present would not make a significant impact on the fatigue life, but
it is clear that five contours seen as optimal from this plot.
In Figure 4(c), the main effects plot for raster angle shows that angles 0° and 90° have
very little impact on fatigue life and better results are achieved at 30°, 45° and 75°. This
can be inferred that since these three angles are very close to the mean line, they do not
have a strong effect. A possible reason for this phenomenon is due to anisotropy. Both 0°
and 90° are similar as when they rotate there will be a point where the orientation is
either horizontal or vertical, this would have caused samples at those angles failed faster.
The main effects plot for raster width shows that decrease in raster width has caused
an increase in fatigue life [Figure 4(d)]. This indicates that if raster width was the only
factor being varied, then the lowest raster width should be selected for use, i.e., 0.2 mm
which had the greatest impact on fatigue life.

4.3.2 Interaction plots

After creating the main effects plots to establish the significance of each factor,
interaction plots were then developed to compare the performance between parameters. It
94 B.V. Chowdary and A.A. Bobb

should be noted that parallel lines indicate that there is no interaction between the
parameters.
The interaction plot between number of contours and layer thickness [Figure 5(a)]
illustrates that there is a relationship exists with fatigue life. When the number of
contours = 1, the fatigue life was at its lowest; but as it increased, the fatigue life
increased with most levels of layer thickness. However, there was a negligible effect at
number of contours = 4 with increasing layer thickness on the fatigue life.
The interaction plot between number of contours and raster angle illustrates that there
is a relationship present with fatigue life, but it is not distinct as there are two parallel
lines present [Figure 5(b)]. When the number of contours was increased, there was a
significant increase in fatigue life at an angle of 45° but the same effect was not seen for
the other angles that were tested. From this plot, it can be clearly seen that the greatest
fatigue life is obtained at number of contours = 5.
In Figure 5(c), the interaction plot between number of contours and raster width
illustrates a relationship where the fatigue life is improved with increasing the number of
contours and decreasing the raster width. This figure further shows that for each level of
raster width investigated, the fatigue is increasing at different rates for each level of
number of contours. There seems, however, to be little to no relationship present at raster
width = 0.25 as there is no significant improvement in the fatigue life.

Figure 4 Main effect plot for fatigue life versus, (a) layer thickness (b) number of contours
(c) raster angle (d) raster width (see online version for colours)

(a) (b)

(c) (d)
 Impact of processing parameters on fatigue life 95

The interaction plot between layer thickness and raster angle [Figure 5(d)] illustrates that
there is a relationship present, but not a distinct one. However, it shows the greatest
fatigue life at 45° with the smallest layer thickness. This is possibly due to having a
smaller layer thickness allows less heat to be dissipated when raising the nozzle to print
the next layer allowing for a stronger bond to be formed.

Figure 5 Interaction plots for, (a) number of contours and layer thickness (b) number of contours
and raster angle (c) number of contours and raster width (d) layer thickness and raster
angle (e) layer thickness and raster width (f) raster angle and raster width
(see online version for colours)

(a) (b)

(c) (d)

(e) (f)
96 B.V. Chowdary and A.A. Bobb

The interaction plot between layer thickness and raster width illustrates that there is a
relationship present [Figure 5(e)]. The highest fatigue life is achieved at the smallest layer
thickness at a raster width = 0.3 mm. The general trend implies that decreasing raster
width causes an associated increase in fatigue life for the different layer thicknesses. It
should be noted that there are some anomalies present. It can be seen that variations in
layer thickness has different effects on the fatigue life thus difficult to identify a general
trend.
The interaction plot between raster angle and raster width [Figure 5(f)] illustrates that
there is no distinct relationship present as some of the trend lines are close to parallel.
The 0.3 mm raster width line shows slight improvement in fatigue life as it increases
from 0° to 45° but then decreased from 45° to 90°. This is a strong indication that raster
angle may be an insignificant factor and has no influence on fatigue life of PLA part.
Table 6 Results from Minitab for initial regression equation in un-coded units

Model summary
S R-sq R-sq (adj) R-sq (pred)
168.009 87.24% 76.08% 29.59%
Coded coefficients
Term Effect Coef. SE coef. T-value P-value VIF
Constant 4,103 2,691 1.52 0.147
A 757 378 415 0.91 0.375 146.48
B –15,551 –7,776 9,626 –0.81 0.431 196.97
C –20.2 –10.1 17.7 –0.57 0.575 138.90
D –33,725 –16,862 9,626 –1.75 0.099 196.97
A*A 30.4 15.2 31.5 0.48 0.635 31.37
B*B 114,323 57,161 12,592 4.54 0.000 122.36
C*C –0.1248 –0.0624 0.0601 –1.04 0.314 17.44
D*D 90,923 45,461 12,592 3.61 0.002 122.36
A*B –4,230 –2,115 840 –2.52 0.023 68.50
A*C –0.45 –0.22 1.83 –0.12 0.905 21.63
A*D 1,385 693 840 0.82 0.422 68.50
B*C 11.4 5.7 36.7 0.16 0.878 62.08
B*D –130,550 –65,275 16,801 –3.89 0.001 109.00
C*D 92.0 46.0 36.7 1.25 0.228 62.08
Fatigue life = 4,103 + 378 A − 7,776 B − 10.1 C − 16,862 D + 15.2 A ∗ A + 57,162 B ∗ B
−0.0624 C ∗ C + 45, 461 D ∗ D − 2,115 A ∗ B − 0.22 A ∗ C + 693 A ∗ D (1)
+5.7 B ∗ C − 65, 275 B ∗ D + 46 C ∗ D
where A = number of contours; B = layer thickness (mm); C = raster angle (degrees);
D = raster width (mm).
 Impact of processing parameters on fatigue life 97

Table 7 Results from Minitab for improved regression equation in un-coded units

Model summary
S R-sq R-sq (adj) R-sq (pred)
160.576 81.79% 78.15% 68.73%
Coded coefficients
Term Effect Coef. SE coef. T-value P-value VIF
Constant –341 390 –0.87 0.390
A 1,380 690 233 2.96 0.007 50.53
B*B 105,226 52,613 6,671 7.89 0.000 37.60
D*D 64,540 32,270 6,047 5.34 0.000 30.90
A*B –4,389 –2,195 769 –2.85 0.009 62.83
B*D –160,580 –80,290 11,991 –6.70 0.000 60.78
Fatigue life = − 341 + 690 A + 56,213 B ∗ B + 32,270 D ∗ D − 2,195 A ∗ B − 80,290 B ∗ D (2)
where A = number of contours; B = layer thickness (mm); D = raster width (mm).

4.4 Development of initial regression equation

For the experimental data (as shown in Table 5), the RSM technique was applied to
develop a regression equation including linear, square and interaction terms to predict the
fatigue life. Table 6 represents the results obtained from Minitab with the coefficients of
each term generated in the equation and the significance it has on fatigue life.
Fatigue life = 4,103 + 378 A − 7776 B − 10.1 C − 16,862 D + 15.2 A ∗ A
+57,162 B ∗ B − 0.0624 C ∗ C + 45, 461 D ∗ D − 2,115 A ∗ B (1)
−0.22 A ∗ C + 693 A ∗ D + 5.7 B ∗ C − 65, 275 B ∗ D + 46 C ∗ D
where A = number of contours; B = layer thickness (mm); C = raster angle (degrees);
D = raster width (mm).

Figure 6 (a) Normal probability plot (b) Versus fits plot for initial regression equation
(see online version for colours)

(a) (b)
98 B.V. Chowdary and A.A. Bobb

The resulted regression equation [equation (1)] has a high R2 value of approximately 87%
(see Table 6). This means the model as shown in the normal probability plot [see
Figure 6(a)] explains most of the response data around its mean (Minitab 2017). It shows
that the points are almost in a straight line with one major outlier indicated by the
magenta circle. Further, the R2 (pred) is very low at a value of approximately 30%
indicating that the regression equation does not predict new observations accurately and
therefore the model should be improved. This was done by removing terms from the
equation that contain p-values below 0.05 as they would not have any significance.
Moreover, the versus fits plot [see Figure 6(b)] was used to detect nonlinearity,
outliers and unequal error variances. Further, it can be that the data points are scattered
about the residual line and are also unstructured indicating that there is a constant
variance between the predicted values and experimental values.

4.5 Development of improved regression equation

The backward elimination method was applied in Minitab to increase the prediction
performance. As per Ali and Chowdary (2019), all terms with p-values greater than 0.05
were eliminated from the initial regression equation [equation (1)] to improve its
predictive capabilities. The analysis resulted in elimination of raster angle (C) parameter
completely from all terms within the regression equation in order to better predict the
fatigue life. The resultant regression equation obtained in terms of the response and the
process parameters [number of contours (A), layer thickness (B) and raster width (D)]
can be seen in equation (2). Table 7 shows the results that the elimination had on the R2
value as well as the R2 (pred). Jerez-Mesa et al. (2017) found that the honeycomb
structure was the most beneficial infill pattern when testing fatigue, whereas in this
research the zig-zag pattern was used to see its impact on the response. Thus, the results
showed that the improved regression equation [equation (2)] was accurate at predicting
values for fatigue life.
Fatigue life = − 341 + 690 A + 56, 213 B ∗ B + 32, 270 D ∗ D − 2,195 A ∗ B
(2)
−80, 290 B ∗ D

where A = number of contours; B = layer thickness (mm); D = raster width (mm).

It can now be seen that the R2 value has dropped to approximately 82% whereas the
R (pred) has increased to 69% (see Table 7). These results meant that the regression
2

equation was more accurate for prediction of fatigue life. The R2 value obtained has been
deemed valid with respect to the field of physical and life sciences as an R2 that is greater
than 60% is a good fitting model.

4.6 Optimisation of process parameters

After analysing the main effect and interaction plots, the improved regression model
obtained was then used to optimise the three parameters (A, B, and D) to improve fatigue
life. This was done using the GA Solver available in MATLAB programme. The code
was written in a script file. It should be noted that the default optimisation settings were
taken, and the lower and upper limits were given for each parameter. The solver was
executed several times to ensure consistency in the generated results. The optimal
parameter setting for the response was obtained as A = 5, B = 0.10 mm and D = 0.40 mm.
 Impact of processing parameters on fatigue life 99

The optimum value for number of contours (A) was found as five. This was expected
as it can be seen in the main effects plot [see Figure 4(b)] that there was an increasing
trend in fatigue life as the number of contours increased. The optimum value for layer
thickness (B) was found as 0.1 mm which was the smallest setting available on the
printing machine that would print the specimen in a timely manner. This was also seen
from the main effects plot [see Figure 4(a)], where a layer thickness of 0.2 mm gave the
greatest fatigue life. Lastly, the optimum setting for raster width (D) was found as 0.4
mm. This result was unusual as in the main effects plot for raster width (D) [see
Figure 4(d)], it was seen that the smallest dimension would give the largest fatigue life.
The result was verified using Minitab programme which gave the same result (Figure 7
refers) at 95% confidence interval with lower and upper limits being approximately 3,146
and 5,833 cycles respectively. In addition, Figure 7 shows predicted fatigue life as
approximately 4,489 cycles with the corresponding optimal parameter settings.

Figure 7 Results from Minitab predicting fatigue life with optimal settings

4.7 Validation of the optimal results

For validation purposes, three additional specimens were printed using the optimised
parameter settings and then the fatigue life of each specimen was measured. The
validation results can be seen in Table 8. Further, the average value of the fatigue life
from the confirmation experiments was compared with that of GA results and they were
found to be within their accuracy limits as shown in Table 9. Thus, the prediction
performance of the GA is quite satisfactory and can be used for future applications.
Table 8 Results obtained through validation runs

Specimen Measured fatigue life Difference from predicted fatigue life

number (no. of cycles) (no. of cycles)
1 5,029 540
2 4,125 364
3 5,130 641

Table 9 Comparison between predicted and actual fatigue life

Optimal parameter settings Predicted fatigue life Actual fatigue life

(cycles to failure) (cycles to failure) Error (%)
A: NOC B: LT (mm) D: RW (mm) (GA Solver) (measured mean)
5 0.10 0.40 4,489.91 4,761.33 5.7
100 B.V. Chowdary and A.A. Bobb

4.8 Study inferences

During testing of the different specimens, a few critical observations were noted which
led to some anomalies in the results. These are listed below:
• Bed adhesion material (known as brim) being left on the parent material caused the
specimen to be slightly larger than the expected diameter required to fit into
the testing machine. Figure 8 shows protuberances on mid-section orientation of
printed samples at 90° as well as with bed adhesion material. Additionally,
protuberances before and after post-processing of samples can also be differentiated
in Figure 8. Thus, a polishing operation had been performed to get the specimens to
fit to the test machine clamp.

Figure 8 Protuberances on, (a) mid-section orientation of printed samples at 90° (b) with bed
adhesion material (c) before post-processing (d) after post-processing
(see online version for colours)

• It was noted that some specimens had protuberances on the surface as indicated in
Figure 5. Therefore, all specimens were polished to ensure that all specimens would
fit properly into the test equipment. This polishing operation, however, would have
affected the results as a fatigue stress was experienced in the specimens.
• For most of the experiments, it was seen that when the load was applied, and the
experiments begun, the force would either decrease (eventually becoming negative)
soon after fracture or increase rapidly and then fracture.
 Impact of processing parameters on fatigue life 101

• A black ‘impurity’ appeared in a specimen that fractured in an incorrect location (see

Figure 9) which would have inherently affected the fatigue life of the specimens.
This caused the specimen to fail very quickly and forced to reprint more specimens.
Figure 9(a) shows a sample black impurity when the sample observed under the flash
magnifier (scale = 1: 0.038).
• Some specimens upon fracture displayed noticeable air gaps present albeit setting the
infill to 100% for all experiments (see Figure 9). Figures 9(b)–9(d) show a sample of
voids and impurities when test specimens observed under the Zeiss ICM 405
Microscope (scale = 1:0.006).

Figure 9 Specimen observed (a) under magnifying glass (b) (c) (d) under microscope
(see online version for colours)

Notes: (i) Scale for image (a) 1:0.038 (image: specimen); unit is in mm (ii) scale for
images (b), (c) and (d) 1:0.006 (image: specimen); unit is in mm.

5 Conclusions and future work

From the study results, it was found that the parameters – number of contours, layer
thickness and raster width – have a significant impact on the fatigue life. It was also seen
that layer thickness and raster width were the two most critical process parameters among
the four selected. The RSM-based CCD was used to reduce the number of experiments
while the GA optimisation technique was deployed for optimisation of parameters
because, in addition to being vastly applied in previous studies, it yielded very accurate
results. In summary, the optimum parameter values that contribute to the highest fatigue
life are as follows:
• number of contours: 5
• layer thickness: 0.1 mm
• raster width: 0.4 mm.
102 B.V. Chowdary and A.A. Bobb

Further, a summary of the study outcomes in terms of the selected parameters and the
response is listed below:
• As the number of contours increase, the fatigue life increases.
• As the raster width increases, the fatigue life increases.
• As layer thickness increases, the fatigue life of PLA decreased.
• There is a significant interaction between the parameters layer thickness and raster
width.
• It was found that raster angle was seen to have very little effect on the fatigue life.
There are numerous variables that can be further explored to enhance the current study.
In this regard, some recommendations for future work are as follows:
• There is a need to extend the current study to assess the impact of the selected
process parameters on the other mechanical properties such as tensile, compressive
and flexural strength of PLA specimens. Some studies in this direction are in
progress at the authors’ work place.
• Investigation of the impact of other process parameters such as build orientation,
printing temperature and nozzle diameter on fatigue life of PLA samples, which were
kept constant during this study.
• The specimen dimensions should be kept within the machine specification to avoid
post-processing treatment which will affect results.

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