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On Strength Variations Effected by Infill Patterns Such as Honeycomb, Gyroid, and Archimedean Chords Used in Additive
Karolina Gocyk1, Reza Afshar1, Bilen Emek Abali1
1Ångström Laboratories, Division of Applied Mechanics, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Uppsala University, P.O. Box 35, SE-751 03 Uppsala, Sweden.
Polymers
|July 15, 2026
Summary
Choosing the right infill pattern in additive manufacturing is crucial for mechanical performance. Honeycomb offers high strength, while mass-normalized strength is maximized at 90% infill, guiding engineers in structural part design.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science and Engineering
- Mechanical Engineering
- Additive Manufacturing
Background:
- Additive manufacturing enables internal substructures (infill patterns) that influence mechanical performance.
- Limited comparative studies hinder the optimal exploitation of infill patterns in structural part design.
- Engineers often select infill patterns based on printing time or material usage due to unknown performance properties.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the effect of different infill patterns on the mechanical performance of 3D-printed parts.
- To provide a comparative analysis of honeycomb, gyroid, and Archimedean chords infill patterns.
- To guide designers in selecting appropriate infill patterns based on performance, mass, and print time.
Main Methods:
- Experimental campaign using three-point bending tests on PolyLactic Acid (PLA) samples.
- Evaluation of infill densities ranging from 50% to 100%.
- Additional testing with Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) for Archimedean chords.
Main Results:
- Honeycomb infill exhibited the highest absolute flexural strength.
- Mass-normalized flexural strength peaked at 90% infill density.
- Mass reduction was non-linear; reducing infill to 50% decreased mass by only up to 17%.
Conclusions:
- A mass-normalized flexural strength metric is valuable for selecting optimal infill patterns.
- The study provides a performance comparison of infill patterns to aid designers.
- Understanding infill pattern performance is essential for efficient structural part design in additive manufacturing.
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