Materials · Mechanical Testing
Fatigue Testing Rig for 3D-Printed Parts
Advanced 5 weeks 35-45 hours
Build a motor-driven rig that bends 3D-printed samples back and forth, counts cycles to failure, and builds an S-N style fatigue curve.
Major
Materials
Focus area
Mechanical Testing
Total hours
35-45 hours
What you'll need
- DC gear motor 12V for Arduino
- infrared IR obstacle avoidance sensor module for Arduino
- Arduino Uno R3 ATmega328P microcontroller board
- 16x2 LCD display module with I2C for Arduino
- PLA PETG 3D printer filament 1.75mm
- 12V 2A DC power supply adapter
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Steps
- Design a crank or cam that bends a sample to a set amplitude.
- Build the rig with the gear motor and a clamp for the samples.
- Program the Arduino to count cycles with the IR sensor and stop when the sample breaks.
- Test PLA and PETG samples at 3 different bend amplitudes.
- Plot amplitude vs. cycles to failure for each material.
- Compare the materials and document the rig for your portfolio.
What to photograph for your portfolio
- Fatigue rig
- cycle counter display
- failed samples
- cycles to failure chart
Resume bullet starters
Copy one, then swap in your own numbers.
Designed and built a cyclic bending fatigue rig with automatic cycle counting
Generated fatigue curves for [X] materials and found [material] lasted [X]x longer at the same bend amplitude
Quantified results with [insert your result, such as hardness change, strength, efficiency, or error vs published values] and summarized findings in a technical report
Skills you'll show off
Fatigue testingmachine designArduinomaterials comparisondata analysis