{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,9]],"date-time":"2026-05-09T04:17:52Z","timestamp":1778300272720,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":41,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"2","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,22]],"date-time":"2026-01-22T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1769040000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Funda\u00e7\u00e3o para a Ci\u00eancia e a Tecnologia","award":["UID\/00667"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["UID\/00667"]}]},{"name":"CEMMPRE"},{"name":"CDRSP"},{"name":"ARISE"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Polymers"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Additive manufacturing has been widely adopted in industry as an alternative to traditional manufacturing processes for complex component production. In fact, a diverse range of materials, particularly polymers, can be processed using 3D printing for biomechanical applications (e.g., prosthetics). However, in-depth evaluation of these materials is necessary to determine their suitability for demanding applications, such as those involving cyclic loading. Following previous work that studied Polylactic Acid (PLA) and Polyethylene Terephthalate Glycol-modified (PETG) under experimental fatigue testing, this study examines the fatigue behaviour of other current 3D-printed polymeric materials, namely Acrylonitrile Styrene Acrylate (ASA), Polycarbonate (PC), Polyamide 12 (Nylon 12), and Polycarbonate\u2013Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (blend) (PC-ABS), for which fatigue data remain limited or even non-existent. The findings revealed performance differences on Tensile Strength (\u03c3R), Young\u2019s Modulus and Ultimate Strain among tensile specimens made from these materials and characterised S-N curves for both high-cycle (HCF) and low-cycle (LCF) fatigue regimes at room temperature, with a tensile load ratio (R = 0.05). These results establish relationships among fatigue limit and quasi-static mechanical properties, namely 25% \u00d7 \u03c3r for ASA (8 MPa), 7% \u00d7 \u03c3r for PC (3.6 MPa), 17% \u00d7 \u03c3r for Nylon 12 (7.4 MPa), and 15% \u00d7 \u03c3r for PC-ABS (4.7 MPa), as well as between mechanical properties and preliminary potential biomechanical applications. Main conclusions were further supported by micro-computed tomography (micro-CT), which revealed levels of porosity in between 4% and 11%, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR).<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/polym18020302","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,23]],"date-time":"2026-01-23T14:58:40Z","timestamp":1769180320000},"page":"302","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["Mechanical, Fatigue, and Thermal Characterization of ASA, Nylon 12, PC, and PC-ABS Manufactured by Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF)"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"18","author":[{"given":"\u00c2ngela","family":"Rodrigues","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"UNIDEMI, Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, NOVA School of Science and Technology, Campus de Caparica, 2829-516 Caparica, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2471-1125","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ricardo","family":"Branco","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"CEMMPRE, ARISE, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Coimbra, Rua Lu\u00eds Reis Santos, Pinhal de Marrocos, 3030-788 Coimbra, Portugal"}]},{"given":"Margarida","family":"Franco","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centre for Rapid and Sustainable Product Development, Polytechnic Institute of Leiria, Rua de Portugal, 2430-028 Marinha Grande, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3931-8206","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Rui","family":"Silva","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centre for Rapid and Sustainable Product Development, Polytechnic Institute of Leiria, Rua de Portugal, 2430-028 Marinha Grande, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0012-4380","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"C\u00e2ndida","family":"Mal\u00e7a","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centre for Rapid and Sustainable Product Development, Polytechnic Institute of Leiria, Rua de Portugal, 2430-028 Marinha Grande, Portugal"},{"name":"Department of Mechanical Engineering, Coimbra Polytechnic\u2014ISEC, Rua Pedro Nunes, 3030-199 Coimbra, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8155-0079","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Rui F.","family":"Martins","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"UNIDEMI, Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, NOVA School of Science and Technology, Campus de Caparica, 2829-516 Caparica, Portugal"},{"name":"Laborat\u00f3rio Associado de Sistemas Inteligentes, LASI, 4800-058 Guimar\u00e3es, Portugal"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,22]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Martins, R.F., Branco, R., Martins, M., Macek, W., Marciniak, Z., Silva, R., Trindade, D., Moura, C., Franco, M., and Mal\u00e7a, C. (2024). Mechanical Properties of Additively Manufactured Polymeric Materials\u2014PLA and PETG\u2014For Biomechanical Applications. Polymers, 16.","DOI":"10.3390\/polym16131868"},{"key":"ref_2","unstructured":"da Silva, E. (2021). Fabrico Aditivo para a Constru\u00e7\u00e3o Met\u00e1lica: Projeto, Realiza\u00e7\u00e3o e Caracteriza\u00e7\u00e3o. [Master\u2019s Thesis, University of Coimbra]. (In Portuguese)."},{"key":"ref_3","unstructured":"Geraldo, M.S. (2022). Carateriza\u00e7\u00e3o e Otimiza\u00e7\u00e3o do Comportamento Mec\u00e2nico de PEEK Produzido por Impress\u00e3o 3D. [Master\u2019s Thesis, NOVA School of Science and Technology]. (In Portuguese)."},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Dilberoglu, U.M., Gharehpapagh, B., Yaman, U., and Dolen, M. (2017). The Role of Additive Manufacturing in the Era of Industry 4.0. Procedia Manufacturing, Elsevier B.V.","DOI":"10.1016\/j.promfg.2017.07.148"},{"key":"ref_5","unstructured":"Naranjo, M.R. (2017). Prototipado r\u00e1pido de un \u00e1labe Mediante Impresi\u00f3n 3D por Deposici\u00f3n de Fundido. [Master\u2019s Thesis, Universidad de Sevilla]. (In Spanish)."},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Moon, J., Park, K., and Park, S. (2022). Intelligent Warping Detection for Fused Filament Fabrication of a Metal-Polymer Composite Filament. IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology, Springer Nature.","DOI":"10.1007\/978-3-031-16407-1_32"},{"key":"ref_7","unstructured":"Pereira, A.L. (2022). Estudo do Efeito dos Par\u00e2metros de Impress\u00e3o 3D na Resist\u00eancia Mec\u00e2nica de pe\u00e7as Impressas. [Master\u2019s Thesis, Instituto Superior de Engenharia de Lisboa-Departamento de Engenharia Mec\u00e2nica]. (In Portuguese)."},{"key":"ref_8","unstructured":"Melo, J.M. (2022). 3D Printer Nozzle: Effects of Die Dimension, Geometry, and Material on the Quality of FFF Printed Parts in PLA. [Master\u2019s Thesis, Faculty of Engineering of University of Porto (FEUP)]. (In Portuguese)."},{"key":"ref_9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Pivar, M., Gregor-Svetec, D., and Muck, D. (2022). Effect of Printing Process Parameters on the Shape Transformation Capability of 3D Printed Structures. Polymers, 14.","DOI":"10.3390\/polym14010117"},{"key":"ref_10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"604","DOI":"10.1108\/RPJ-09-2014-0135","article-title":"The impact of process parameters on mechanical properties of parts fabricated in PLA with an open-source 3-D printer","volume":"21","author":"Lanzotti","year":"2015","journal-title":"Rapid Prototyp. J."},{"key":"ref_11","unstructured":"Machado, D.A.A. (2019). Desenvolvimento de Impressora 3D para Caracteriza\u00e7\u00e3o dos Efeitos de Par\u00e2metros de Impress\u00e3o nas Propriedades Mec\u00e2nicas do PEEK. [Master\u2019s Thesis, NOVA School of Science and Technology]. (In Portuguese)."},{"key":"ref_12","unstructured":"Martins, T.S. (2017). Influ\u00eancia dos Par\u00e2metros de Fabrico nas Propriedades Mec\u00e2nicas de Pe\u00e7as Obtidas por Impress\u00e3o 3D com um \u00danico Material. [Master\u2019s Thesis, Instituto Superior T\u00e9cnico-University of Lisbon]. (In Portuguese)."},{"key":"ref_13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"G\u0142owacki, M., Mazurkiewicz, A., Sk\u00f3rczewska, K., Lewandowski, K., Smyk, E., and Branco, R. (2024). Effect of Thermal Shock Conditions on the Low-Cycle Fatigue Performance of 3D-Printed Materials: Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene, Acrylonitrile-Styrene-Acrylate, High-Impact Polystyrene, and Poly(lactic acid). Polymers, 16.","DOI":"10.3390\/polym16131823"},{"key":"ref_14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"G\u0142owacki, M., Sk\u00f3rczewska, K., Lewandowski, K., Szewczykowski, P., and Mazurkiewicz, A. (2024). Effect of Shock-Variable Environmental Temperature and Humidity Conditions on 3D-Printed Polymers for Tensile Properties. Polymers, 16.","DOI":"10.3390\/polym16010001"},{"key":"ref_15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Djokikj, J., Tuteski, O., Doncheva, E., and Hadjieva, B. (2022). Experimental investigation on mechanical properties of FFF parts using different materials. Procedia Structural Integrity, Elsevier B.V.","DOI":"10.1016\/j.prostr.2022.05.076"},{"key":"ref_16","first-page":"73","article-title":"The impact of 3D printing parameters on the tensile strength of polycarbonate (PC)","volume":"12","author":"Pezer","year":"2024","journal-title":"Int. J. Res. Eng. Sci. (IJRES)"},{"key":"ref_17","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Petousis, M., Vidakis, N., Mountakis, N., Papadakis, V., and Tzounis, L. (2022). Three-Dimensional Printed Polyamide 12 (PA12) and Polylactic Acid (PLA) Alumina (Al2O3) Nanocomposites with Significantly Enhanced Tensile, Flexural, and Impact Properties. Nanomaterials, 12.","DOI":"10.3390\/nano12234292"},{"key":"ref_18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Vidakis, N., Petousis, M., Velidakis, E., Korlos, A., Kechagias, J.D., Tsikritzis, D., and Mountakis, N. (2022). Medical-Grade Polyamide 12 Nanocomposite Materials for Enhanced Mechanical and Antibacterial Performance in 3D Printing Applications. Polymers, 14.","DOI":"10.3390\/polym14030440"},{"key":"ref_19","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"814","DOI":"10.1108\/RPJ-06-2021-0142","article-title":"Fatigue life assessment of polyamide 12 processed by selective laser sintering. Damage modelling according to fracture mechanics","volume":"28","author":"Salazar","year":"2021","journal-title":"Rapid Prototyp. J."},{"key":"ref_20","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Mura, A., Ricci, A., and Canavese, G. (2018). Investigation of fatigue behavior of ABS and PC-ABS polymers at different temperatures. Materials, 11.","DOI":"10.3390\/ma11101818"},{"key":"ref_21","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"106007","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijfatigue.2020.106007","article-title":"Fatigue behaviour of FDM-3D printed polymers, polymeric composites and architected cellular materials","volume":"143","author":"Shanmugam","year":"2021","journal-title":"Int. J. Fatigue"},{"key":"ref_22","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1189","DOI":"10.1016\/S0266-3538(00)00241-4","article-title":"Biomedical applications of polymer-composite materials: A review","volume":"61","author":"Ramakrishna","year":"2021","journal-title":"Compos. Sci. Technol."},{"key":"ref_23","unstructured":"da Costa Duarte, P.R. (2018). Impress\u00e3o 3D de Pol\u00edmeros Biocompat\u00edveis. [Master\u2019s Thesis, NOVA School of Science and Technology]. (In Portuguese)."},{"key":"ref_24","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Bergmann, G., Bender, A., Dymke, J., Duda, G., and Damm, P. (2016). Standardized Loads Acting in Hip Implants. PLoS ONE, 11.","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0155612"},{"key":"ref_25","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"589","DOI":"10.3390\/prosthesis4040048","article-title":"Design Evaluation of FFF-Printed Transtibial Prosthetic Sockets Using Follow-Up and Finite Element Analysis","volume":"4","author":"Stenveld","year":"2022","journal-title":"Prosthesis"},{"key":"ref_26","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"193","DOI":"10.1016\/j.compositesb.2016.04.067","article-title":"Low-cycle fatigue behavior of 3d-printed PLA-based porous scaffolds","volume":"97","author":"Senatov","year":"2016","journal-title":"Compos. B Eng."},{"key":"ref_27","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Dorado, S., Arias, A., and Jimenez-Octavio, J.R. (2022). Biomechanical Modelling for Tooth Survival Studies: Mechanical Properties, Loads and Boundary Conditions\u2014A Narrative Review. Materials, 15.","DOI":"10.3390\/ma15217852"},{"key":"ref_28","unstructured":"(2014). Standard Test Method for Tensile Properties of Plastics (Standard No. ASTM D638)."},{"key":"ref_29","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2311","DOI":"10.1177\/00219983231171658","article-title":"Mapping internal strain fields of fused filament fabrication metal filled polylactic acid structure using digital volume correlation","volume":"57","author":"Goyal","year":"2023","journal-title":"J. Compos. Mater."},{"key":"ref_30","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3442","DOI":"10.1016\/j.compscitech.2007.03.007","article-title":"Thermal stability of nanoclay polypropylene composites by simultaneous DSC and TGA","volume":"67","author":"Golebiewski","year":"2007","journal-title":"Compos. Sci. Technol."},{"key":"ref_31","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"106886","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jece.2021.106886","article-title":"Study of microplastics with semicrystalline and amorphous structure identification by TGA and DSC","volume":"10","year":"2022","journal-title":"J. Environ. Chem. Eng."},{"key":"ref_32","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Pasieczna-Patkowska, S., Cichy, M., and Flieger, J. (2025). Application of Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) Spectroscopy in Characterization of Green Synthesized Nanoparticles. Molecules, 30.","DOI":"10.3390\/molecules30030684"},{"key":"ref_33","unstructured":"Coelhas, A.M.B. (2013). Caracteriza\u00e7\u00e3o de Produtos Petrol\u00edferos por T\u00e9cnicas Espectrosc\u00f3picas. [Master\u2019s Thesis, NOVA School of Science and Technology]. (In Portuguese)."},{"key":"ref_34","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3384","DOI":"10.1111\/ffe.13565","article-title":"Quasistatic and fatigue behavior of an AISI H13 steel obtained by additive manufacturing and conventional method","volume":"44","author":"Garcias","year":"2021","journal-title":"Fatigue Fract. Eng. Mater. Struct."},{"key":"ref_35","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"623","DOI":"10.1007\/s10867-012-9276-6","article-title":"Infrared spectroscopic assessment of the inflammation-mediated osteoporosis (IMO) model applied to rabbit bone","volume":"38","author":"Kourkoumelis","year":"2012","journal-title":"J. Biol. Phys."},{"key":"ref_36","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"122001","DOI":"10.1088\/2053-1591\/abcc5d","article-title":"Effects of porosity on the mechanical properties of additively manufactured components: A critical review","volume":"7","author":"Patil","year":"2020","journal-title":"Mater. Res. Express"},{"key":"ref_37","first-page":"86","article-title":"Structure and tensile properties evaluation of samples produced by Fused Deposition Modeling","volume":"6","author":"Slota","year":"2016","journal-title":"Open Eng."},{"key":"ref_38","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Cicero, S., Devito, F., S\u00e1nchez, M., Arrieta, S., and Arroyo, B. (2024). Notch Effect in Acrylonitrile Styrene Acrylate (ASA) Single-Edge-Notch Bending Specimens Manufactured by Fused Filament Fabrication. Materials, 17.","DOI":"10.3390\/ma17215207"},{"key":"ref_39","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"343","DOI":"10.1007\/s11668-014-9803-9","article-title":"Fracture Surface Analysis of 3D-Printed Tensile Specimens of Novel ABS-Based Materials","volume":"14","author":"Roberson","year":"2014","journal-title":"J. Fail. Anal. Preven."},{"key":"ref_40","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"115290","DOI":"10.1016\/j.matdes.2025.115290","article-title":"Development of in-house PC\/ABS blends and optimization of printing parameters for material extrusion method","volume":"260","author":"Nguyen","year":"2025","journal-title":"Mater. Des."},{"key":"ref_41","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1044","DOI":"10.1002\/jbm.b.32669","article-title":"Stress shielding and fatigue limits of poly-ether-ether-ketone dental implants","volume":"100B","author":"Lee","year":"2012","journal-title":"J. Biomed. Mater. Res. B Appl. Biomater."}],"container-title":["Polymers"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2073-4360\/18\/2\/302\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,24]],"date-time":"2026-01-24T05:13:04Z","timestamp":1769231584000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2073-4360\/18\/2\/302"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,22]]},"references-count":41,"journal-issue":{"issue":"2","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,1]]}},"alternative-id":["polym18020302"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/polym18020302","relation":{},"ISSN":["2073-4360"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2073-4360","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,22]]}}}