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Materials Testing Procedure

Stratasys Materials Testing Procedure

Process for printing and testing materials used in the creation of the Material Technical Data Sheets.
This document applies to the following materials:•ABS-ESD7™

•

ABS-M30™ - black•

ABS-M30i™

•

ABS-CF10•

Antero™ 800NA•

Antero™ 840CN03•

ASA - black•

Diran™ 410MF07•

FDM™ Nylon 12CF•

FDM™ Nylon 12•

PC•

PC-ABS•ULTEM™ 9085 resin - natural and black•

ULTEM™ 1010 resin**This material requires extra processing, steps can be found in the appendix.

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Mechanical Properties
Test Samples and Parameters
Mechanical test samples were printed ten (10) samples per machine utilizing three (3) different machines,
resulting in thirty (30) total samples per test for each orientation. Both on-edge (XZ) and upright (ZX)
(Figure 1) orientations were tested.
Tensile mechanical tests were performed to ASTM D638 Type I samples, thickness = 3.3 mm (0.130 in.)tested with a cross-head speed of 0.2 in./min.
Flexural mechanical tests were performed to ASTM D790 samples, 12.70 mm x 3.175 mm x 76.20 mm(0.5 in. x 0.125 in. x 5 in.), using Procedure A with a span length of ~2 in. and a 0.01 in./in./min strain rate.
Compression strength tests were performed to ASTM D695 rectangular prism samples,
12.7 mm x 12.7 mm x 25.4 mm (0.5 in. x 0.5 in. x 1 in.), with a cross-head speed of 0.05 in./min.
Failure was determined at the first tear in the sample.
Compression modulus tests were performed to ASTM D695 using rectangular prism samples,
12.7 mm x 12.7 mm x 25.4 mm (0.5 in. x 0.5 in. x 2 in.), with a cross-head speed of 0.05 in./min.
Izod notched tests were performed using ASTM D256 samples, thickness = 3.175 mm (0.125 in.),with a 2 ft*lb pendulum capacity using Method A. The notch was created after printing per ASTM D256.
Izod notched tests were performed using ASTM D4812 samples, thickness = 3.175 mm (0.125 in),with either a 2 or 5 ft*lb capacity.
All samples were conditioned for a minimum of 40 hours at 23 ± 2 ºC (73 °F ± 3.6 °F) and 50 ± 10% RH
prior to testing.

ZYStratasys Materials Testing Procedure

XFlat (XY)

Figure 1: Print orientations.

On Edge (XZ)

Upright (ZX)

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Insight Processing
All STL files included only one sample. Each was individually processed and then copied inControl Center™.
Processing All On-Edge (XZ) Samples and Upright (ZX) Compression Samples
The STLs were processed using single contour and +45/-45 solid rasters, which are typical default
settings. After the samples were sliced, and support and toolpaths were generated, seam control wasused to ensure the seams were on the corners of the specimen out of the areas of concern for testing(Figure 2). Once the printer, material, and slice height were set, the CMB file was saved and exported toControl Center.

Figure 2: Seam control for an XZ tensile sample. Seams were placed on corners away from the gauge area.
Seams are shown by white and gray arrows. The seams under the sample are for support and not part of the finished model.

Processing Upright (ZX) Tensile, Flexural and Izod Samples

Stratasys Materials Testing Procedure

The STL was sliced and support was generated starting with single contour and +45/-45 solid rasters,
which are typical default settings. A stabilizer wall was added to the top layer of the sliced STL, startingand ending at the corners on one side of the sample (Figure 3). The parameters used to add the stabilizer
wall are in Figure 4.

Figure 3: Stabilizer wall on an upright tensile sample. Seams are shown bygray and white arrows, originating from the bottom left corner of the sample.

Figure 4: Stabilizer wall parameters for tensile
and Izod tests.

After the stabilizer wall was added, toolpaths were generated. Seam control was used to place theseams on the front left corner away from the stabilizer wall (Figure 3). The CMB file was saved andexported to Control Center.

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Seam Control
To select seam control in Insight™, go to Insight> Toolpath> Seam control (Figure 5).

Figure 5: Seam control option in Insight, boxed in red.

Figure 6: Selections made in Seam Control, located on
the right side of the screen.

This function is easiest to use when using a top down view of your part, example in Figure 3. Select theoption Align To Nearest in the drop down menu on the right side of the screen. After that, check thebox labeled Bypass seam placement method (Figure 6). Then, click on a reference point by the corner
you wish to align your seams on. Now you can select all the seams by dragging your mouse across theentire part. Once everything is selected (shown by the slices turning white) click on the ‘OK’ button on
the right side of the screen. The part can now be saved and converted into a CMB file and exported tothe printer.
Control Center

Stratasys Materials Testing Procedure

Each set of 10 mechanical test specimens were printed independently. When the CMB file is imported
into Control Center, it is copied nine times and packed with the default packing arrangement in thecenter of the build area, except for tensile ZX samples. Tensile ZX samples were packed according toFigure 7. A sacrificial tower was added and built to the height of the model.

Figure 7: Control Center pack for ZX tensile samples.

Post Processing
Support was broken off the samples manually after removal from the printer, except for FDM Nylon 12CF
and FDM Nylon 12. Those samples were tanked in water with P400SC WaterWorks™ cleaning solution at50 °C (122 °F) for four hours, then removed to dry overnight.

5Physical Properties
Heat Deflection Temperature (HDT): ASTM D648
HDT tests were performed using 127 mm x 12.7 mm x 3.18 mm (5 in. x 0.5 in. x 0.125 in.) samples,
printed in the flat (XY) and on-edge (XZ) orientations, each orientation tested at 66 psi and 264 psi. Threesamples were tested per orientation per pressure following ASTM D648 Procedure B.
Glass Transition Temperature (Tg): ASTM D7426
DSC analysis was performed using approximately 10 mg samples cut from printed flat (XY) plaques.
Samples were ramped at 10 °C/min from -70 °C to the material Tg + 150 °C for the first heating scan,cooled to -70 °C, and reheated to the material Tg + 150 °C. Nitrogen was used as the purge gas. The
inflection point of the 2nd heating curve was used to determine Tg.
Coefficient of Thermal Expansion (CTE): ASTM E831
TMA analysis was done using approximately 5mm square samples cut from XY and XZ plaques, printed
solid with 45-45 rasters. Samples were analyzed through the thickness of the material. CTE data for XY
samples is determined by measuring the expansion through layers in the Z direction; data for XZ/ZX
samples measures CTE in-plane to the layers (Figure 8). Samples were heated at 5 °C/min from -50 °C to200 °C. Force and preload were 0.1 N. The purge gas was nitrogen at a flow rate of 150 cm3/min.

Figure 8: CTE measurements for printed FDM thermoplastics.

Volume Resistivity: ASTM D257

Stratasys Materials Testing Procedure

Volume resistivity was measured using 90 mm x 90 mm x 3.18 mm (3.5 in. x 3.5 in. x 0.125 in.) XY printedplaques. Measurements were taken with guarded parallel plate electrodes, with 500 V applied voltage for 60
seconds.
Dielectric Constant/Dissipation Factor: ASTM D150
Dielectric Constant and Dissipation Factor were measured on 76.2 mm x 76.2 mm x 3.18 mm(3 in. x 3 in. x 0.125 in.) plaques printed in both the XY and ZX/XZ orientations. Samples in each orientation
were tested at 1 kHz and 2 MHz, with guarded parallel plate electrodes and an applied voltage of 5.0 V.
Measurements for materials more conductive than 109 Ω can not be taken.
Specific Gravity: ASTM D792
Samples were cut from unprinted filament, approximately six inches long. Room temperature water was usedas the displacement fluid. Three samples per material were tested.

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Appendix: ULTEM™ 1010 resin
ULTEM™ 1010 resin was tuned for longer toolpaths and the ZX orientation requires extra processing
steps in order to print useful mechanical samples. For XZ mechanical samples and all physicalproperty samples the process detailed in the main document apply.
Processing Upright (ZX) Tensile, Flexural and Izod Samples
The STL is sliced and support generated starting with default settings. Two stabilizer walls were added
to the top layer, starting and ending at the corners on both sides (Figure 9). The parameters used
to add the stabilizer walls are in Figure 4. Anchor columns were added to both ends of the tensile,
flexural, and impact samples on the bottom layer (Figure 9). An anchor column was added to eachcorner of compressions samples (Figure 10).

Stratasys Materials Testing Procedure

Figure 9. Stabilizer walls and anchor columns on an upright tensile
sample. Seams are shown by gray and white arrows, originating fromthe bottom left corner of the sample.

Figure 10: Anchor column locations on an upright compression sample.

After the stabilizer walls and anchor columns were added, toolpaths were generated using the default
settings. Seam control was used to place the seams on the front left corner away from the stabilizer
wall (Figure 3). The CMB file was saved and exported to Control Center.
Control Center
Each set of 10 mechanical test specimens were printed independently. For XZ samples, when theCMB file is imported into Control Center, it is copied nine times and packed with the default packing
arrangement in the center of the build area. For ZX samples, when the CMB file is imported intoControl Center, it is copied nine times and packed according to Figure 7. A sacrificial tower wasadded and built to the height of the model.

Stratasys Materials Testing Procedure

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