The Influence of Moisture Absorption and Desorption by the ABS Filament on the Properties of Additively Manufactured...

This paper presents the results of research on the influence of the moisture content in a filament made of ABS polymer on the properties of products manufactured using FDM (fused deposition modeling). Tests were carried out on a standard printer, using the parameters recommended by the manufacturer and the literature on the subject. A special climatic chamber was used to condition the material. A negative impact of ABS filament moisture on the strength and dimensional accuracy of printed products and on the structure of their surface is demonstrated. When the range of the filament moisture is between 0.17% and 0.75%, the strength decreases by 25% and the sample thickness increases by 10%. It is also shown that this effect does not depend on the history of the polymer reaching a given moisture level, i.e., by absorbing moisture in the absorption process or releasing moisture in the desorption process.