Materials · Polymers
3D Print Orientation and Infill Tensile Study
Beginner 2 weeks 12-18 hours
Print tensile dog-bone samples at different infill levels and print orientations, then pull them to failure and compare strength. (Requires a 3D printer)
Major
Materials
Focus area
Polymers
Total hours
12-18 hours
What you'll need
- PLA 3D printer filament 1.75mm 1kg
- digital hanging luggage scale 110 lb
- digital caliper 6 inch stainless steel
- S hooks and carabiner set
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Steps
- Download a standard tensile dog-bone model.
- Print sets at 3 infill levels and 3 orientations, weighing and measuring each sample.
- Hang each sample and pull it with the luggage scale until it breaks, recording peak force.
- Test at least 3 samples per setting.
- Calculate tensile strength and strength-to-weight for each setting.
- Chart the results and document the fracture surfaces for your portfolio.
What to photograph for your portfolio
- Dog-bone samples by setting
- pull test setup
- fracture surfaces
- strength comparison chart
Resume bullet starters
Copy one, then swap in your own numbers.
Printed and tensile-tested [X] samples across [X] infill levels and 3 print orientations
Found [setting] produced the highest strength-to-weight, [X]% stronger than the weakest setting
Quantified results with [insert your result, such as hardness change, strength, efficiency, or error vs published values] and summarized findings in a technical report
Skills you'll show off
Additive manufacturingtensile testingpolymer propertiesdesign of experimentsdata analysis