Advancing Sustainability with Statistical Modelling of FDM-Printed Cane-Based Green Composites

This chapter presents a statistical analysis of fused deposition modelling (FDM) process parameters for printing of polylactic acid (PLA) polymer reinforced with cane bamboo fibre and additives as the feedstock material. The experiments were designed using an L 9 orthogonal array, considering FDM parameters such as infill density (ID), layer thickness (LT), nozzle temperature (NT), and fibre loading (FL) as independent variables. The ultimate tensile strength (UTS) and Young’s modulus (E) of the printed samples were considered as dependent variables. An analysis of variance was conducted to evaluate the statistical significance of the independent variables. The outcome of this investigation revealed that the optimal parameter settings for achieving the highest UTS are: ID of 60%, NT of 200°C, LT of 0.2 mm, and FL of 6 wt%. For maximizing Young’s modulus, the optimal settings are: LT of 0.1 mm, ID of 100%, NT of 200°C, and FL of 3 wt%. The PLA-cane bamboo composite feedstock exhibited enhanced mechanical properties at these optimal FDM parameters, indicating its potential as a novel and effective material for researchers, small-scale vendors, and FDM applications.