ABSTRACT

The additive manufacturing method based on computer-aided design and three-dimensional printing technology, its speed, design freedom provided for the designers, the cost-effectiveness and competitive for relatively low-capacity production needs, the possibilities of achieving good quality; has gained a popularity with the industries, including the maritime sector. The main proof of this interest is the significant increase in the number of research and development activities and scientific publications on this topic. Due to above mentioned advantages, it is inevitable for the small-marine craft industry, whose competitiveness can be made sustainable by frequently updating flexible designs, to adopt their technology to the additive manufacturing method. While it makes the design and manufacturing process of boats efficient, for getting more effective results; it requires past driven data approach on practical experience. In this study, the effect of infill density and pattern, which are important parameters of the additive manufacturing method, on the tensile strength of the final product's basic mechanical properties was investigated experimentally. Tensile tests with 13 different printing patterns and 5 different infill densities of polylactic acid (PLA), one of the polymers widely used based on three-dimensional printing technologies, and a test matrix consisting of five different filling densities as 10%, 25%, 50%, 75% and 100%, were performed in Dokuz Eylul University’s (DEU) Composite Laboratory. The results showed that the mechanical properties were very sensitive to these parameters, and the cubic pattern was generally effective in achieving the best mechanical properties at the investigated densities. Using this pattern and 25% density, sailboat hull with a scale of 1/5 was produced in DEU Institute of Marine Sciences and Technologies Additive Manufacturing Laboratory, using PLA polymer by additive manufacturing.