Page 61 - eBook_Proceedings of the International Conference on Digital Manufacturing V1

Evaluating Polymethyl Methacrylate (PMMA) and Blockboard as Enclosure
Materials for Ambient Stability in FDM Printing

Figure 11: The ambient temperature profiles for all
three setups

The sample printed inside the PMMA enclosure shows the best
overall surface quality, with only minimal imperfections visible in
the circled area. These slight irregularities suggest that the stable
thermal conditions maintained by the acrylic enclosure helped
reduce warping and supported strong layer bonding throughout
the print. The blockboard enclosure sample displays moderate
surface issues. In the highlighted region, minor warping and
inconsistencies in the layer lines are visible. This indicates that,
while the blockboard does provide a relatively stable
environment, it doesn’t regulate heat as effectively as PMMA,
leading to slight reductions in print quality.

Overall, the PMMA enclosure provided the most effective
thermal control across all measured parameters including average,
peak, and minimum temperatures, as well as fluctuation range.
While the blockboard enclosure showed slightly lower
performance, it still provided sufficient stability for successful
ABS printing. These findings reinforce the importance of using an
enclosure, particularly the one made from PMMA for achieving
better thermal consistency and print quality in FDM applications.

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