Performance of Granule Material Extruded Thermoplastic Starch-Polybutylene Succinate Blend Using Taguchi Method

In this study, the blend composing 80% thermoplastic starch (TPS)− 20% polybutylene succinate (PBS) was processed using a self-modified GME machine to fabricate specimens following Taguchi’s design of experiments (DOE). The results demonstrated that printing speed had the least influence on fabrication time compared to infill density and layer thickness. Regarding the mass of fabricated specimens, only infill density finds a significant impact. In addition, the GME-fabricated specimens found larger dimensions in comparison with the CAD model, and a lower dimension error can be obtained in the combination of 50% infill density, 20 mm/s printing speed, and 0.2 mm layer thickness. As for the mechanical performance, a 75% infill density and a 20 mm/s printing speed yields a great tensile behavior, whereas a negligible impact can be observed from layer thickness. A combination of 75% infill density, 20 mm/s printing speed, and 0.2 mm layer thickness triggers the greatest impact strength and outstanding repeatability in impact behavior. Overall, this study provides valuable insights into the influence of GME processing parameters on the quality of fabricated specimens and offers suggestions for enhancing their performance using self-blended material in further fields.