A first approach to study the thermal annealing effect of an object made of Poly-lactic Acid (PLA), produced by Fused Deposition Modeling technology (FDM)

Thermal annealing is a common process, used for injection moulding and currently being applied in 3D printed technology, based on extensive studies about the chemical and mechanical behaviour of polymers submitted to a thermal treatment. Nevertheless the studies made so far, lack a systematic approach enriches the exploration of applications around Additive Manufacturing technologies.

The project was inspired by the Maker Movement culture which is exploring various post-processes, as a method for adding value to 3D printed components and the market which is providing solutions in similar directions.

This study is a first approach to evaluate the annealing effect on the physical structure of an object made of Poly-Lactic Acid (PLA) and obtained by Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) technology. Differential Scanning Calorimetry test and tensile test were thus performed to measure the PLA crystallinity degree, the apparent tensile modulus and strength before and after the thermal annealing.