ItemArticle

Impact of Carbon Nanofiber Fillers on Surface Finish and Dimensional Accuracy in FDM-printed Polymer Composites Parts

Title
Impact of Carbon Nanofiber Fillers on Surface Finish and Dimensional Accuracy in FDM-printed Polymer Composites Parts
Creator
Hemanth Kumar, N.; Keshavamurthy, R.; Adarsha, H.; Aniruddha Ram, H.R.; Bhandarkar, Vivek
Description
This paper examines the effect of carbon nanofiber (CNF) reinforcement on the surface finish and dimensional accuracy of the polylactic acid (PLA) composite produced using fused deposition modeling (FDM). Twin-screw compounding was used to prepare PLA-CNF composite filaments with 03wt.% CNF with extrusion of filaments (L/D ratio 30:1, 120rpm). To prepare rectangular specimens (10 10 20mm), the filaments were printed with the nozzle size of 0.4 mm, the layer thickness of 0.1 mm, the infill density of 100%, and the print speed of 5 mm/s. Dimensional accuracy was assessed by a digital vernier caliper with a resolution of 0.01 mm, and surface roughness (Ra) was measured by a digital surface tester that was stylus-based. Every measurement was averaged three times, and the statistical examination of percent deviation and variance analysis of compositions was done. Findings show that CNF addition was important with respect to the dimensional stability and surface finish. The volume variation of the print decreased to 0.20% of PLA/3 wt.% CNF compared to 0.30% of neat PLA, which is a 33% smaller variation of the dimensional accuracy. The surface roughness also reduced as 0.70 ?m of neat PLA was reduced to 0.42 ?m of PLA/3 wt.% CNF, which is a 40% decrease. It was statistically tested that trends of consistent improvement were observed between compositions. The findings indicate that CNF reinforcement results in a higher level of geometric accuracy and less surface morphology in FDM-printed polymer composites. 2026 World Scientific Publishing Company.
Source
Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Systems;
Date
01-01-2026
Publisher
World Scientific
Subject
Carbon nanofibers; dimensional accuracy; fused deposition modeling (FDM); polymer composites; surface roughness
Coverage
Hemanth Kumar N., Department of Mechanical Engineering, Nitte Meenakshi Institute of Technology, Bangalore, India; Keshavamurthy R., Department of Mechanical and Automobile Engineering, Christ University, Bangalore, India; Adarsha H., Department of Mechanical Engineering, Jain University, Bangalore, India; Aniruddha Ram H.R., Department of Mechanical Engineering, Jyothy Institute of Technology, Bangalore, India; Bhandarkar V., Department of Mechanical Engineering, Dayananda Sagar College of Engineering, Bangalore, India
Rights
Restricted Access; Hardcopy may be available in the library
Relation
ISSN: 2196867;
Format
online
Language
English
Type
Article

Citation

Hemanth Kumar, N.; Keshavamurthy, R.; Adarsha, H.; Aniruddha Ram, H.R.; Bhandarkar, Vivek, “Impact of Carbon Nanofiber Fillers on Surface Finish and Dimensional Accuracy in FDM-printed Polymer Composites Parts,” CHRIST (Deemed To Be University) Institutional Repository, accessed June 18, 2026, https://archives.christuniversity.in/items/show/23025.

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