Thermal Analysis of FDM Printing Using Element Activation

Introduction: This study uses a finite element analysis (FEA) approach to investigate the evolution of the temperature profile during fused deposition modeling (FDM) of polymeric materials. The study focuses on the thermal behavior of two materials, Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) and Polypropylene (PP), evaluating the heat-affected zone (HAZ), peak temperatures, and thermal histories at various positions inside the printed structure.

Temperature Distribution at Steady State: The minimum temperature for Steady State of Polypropylene is 90℃ which is bed temperature (Structural Steel) and the maximum temperature is 220 ℃ which is the nozzle temperature for PP.

The minimum temperature for Steady State of ABS is 100℃ which is bed temperature (Structural Steel) and the maximum temperature is 250 ℃ which is the nozzle temperature for ABS.

Temperature Distribution (Contour Plot)

The max and min temperatures for each material

ABS: 315.27 °C (max), 26.715 °C (min)

PP: 276.56 °C (max), 27.224 °C (min)

ABS showed higher peak temperature (315.27 °C) and faster heat spread due to its lower specific heat, while PP reached a lower peak (276.56 °C) with more localized heating. Both materials cooled to around 27 °C at the base, confirming consistent thermal boundary conditions.

HAZ: ABS has a glass transition temperature (Tg) of about 105°C, whereas PP has a much lower Tg of about -10°C. With printed areas reaching temperatures of up to 315 °C in the simulations, the ABS material quickly surpassed its Tg, guaranteeing a broad heat-affected zone (HAZ) and encouraging robust interlayer bonding. The PP model, on the other hand, had a maximum temperature of 276°C. Because its Tg is significantly lower than ambient, its melting point (~160–170°C) controlled the crucial thermal behavior. In contrast to ABS, the heat-affected zone in PP was more confined close to the freshly printed layers, exhibiting less thermal spread and slower heat diffusion.