A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF PLA-ABS SANDWICH STRUCTURES: EFFECT OF PROCESS PARAMETERS ON MECHANICAL PERFORMANCES AND ENERGY CONSUMPTION

Additive manufacturing (AM) is increasingly recognized as a sustainable technology due to its ability to minimize material usage, reduce waste, offer flexibility, and decrease the need for mass production. However, energy consumption during the processing phase raises sustainability concerns. While previous research has examined the impact of process parameters on energy consumption, most studies have been limited to single-material and single-nozzle configurations. On the other hand, the growing advancement towards the integration of multiple materials in AM warranting further investigation in multi-material context. This study addresses these gaps by investigating the effects of various process parameters in multi-material FDM printing on energy consumption, build time, dimensional accuracy, and tensile strength, focusing on two multi-material sandwich structures: PLA/ABS/PLA (PAP) and ABS/PLA/ABS (APA). The results indicate that the APA structure generally exhibits superior tensile strength, but lower dimensional accuracy compared to the PAP structure, although it consumes more energy despite variations in build time. When compared to existing literature, both structures outperform standard ABS and PLA in several key mechanical properties. Data analysis reveals a clear positive correlation between build time and energy consumption but no strong correlation between tensile strength and either build time or energy consumption. ANOVA analysis further identifies significant process parameters affecting the four key metrics, with variations observed between the PAP and APA structures. These findings underscore the importance of selecting appropriate process parameters in multi-material FDM printing to optimize both performance and sustainability.