Study of Reinforcement Distribution,Adhesion between Layers,and Porosity Induced by FDM

This study aims to understand the distribution of reinforcement material in the matrix,evaluate the adherence between layers,and determine the air gap between printing roads.We printed the specimen with two different composite materials,Polylactic Acid(PLA)reinforced with acrylic particles,and another filament reinforced with short carbon fibers.For the observations of the samples,we used a Confocal Microscope.We estimated the porosity of the material by comparing the expected mass with that achieved after manufacture.By pixel count,after binarization,we found the average percentage of acrylate particulate.They showed fair distribution through the PLA matrix even after the manufacturing process.The determination of fibers alignment was made by binarization of image,together with k-means and edge detection.This combination of methods allows estimating the fiber alignment by orientation straight lines.The manufacturing process did not offer good alignment of the fibers,even with the filament initially well aligned.