Statistical analysis of process parameters for additive manufacturing of a pipe spacer for oil and gas applications

Purpose This paper aims to investigate the effects of process parameters on parts produced through the material extrusion process to create a piping spacer suitable for oil and gas applications. Design/methodology/approach The two primary materials examined were Acrylonitrile Styrene Acrylate (ASA) and High-Impact Polystyrene (HIPS). Taguchi’s design of experiment methodology was used for the design of experiments. The effect of processing parameters fill density, layer thickness and printing orientation) on the output factors (maximum compressive strength and specific energy) was analyzed through analysis of variance. According to the application of the piping spacer, compression testing is deemed to be as per ASTM-D695 requirements. In addition to this, the optimum processing factors were identified through gray relational analysis (GRA) and response surface methodology (RSM). Findings ANOVA results indicate that fill density had the highest percentage contribution for ASA, with a percentage of 29.84%, followed by layer thickness (27.54%) and printing orientation (22.08%). However, for the HIPS material, density was the most influential element, with a contribution of 77.80%, followed by layer thickness at 16.77% and printing orientation at 4.39%. Optimization of the process parameters through GRA and RSM suggested the optimum parameters combination for ASA was 90° printing orientation, 0.09 mm layer thickness and 100% fill density, whereas HIPS had the same response except for the printing orientation, which was 0°, 0.09 mm layer thickness and 100% fill density. Originality/value This paper can serve as an aid in understanding the effect of printing orientation, layer thickness and fill density on the plyometric material extrusion process.