Abstract
The influence of acetone vapor bath smoothing on the fatigue lives of 3D printed acrylonitrile butadiene styrene test specimens was investigated using a rotating bending cantilever beam test. The results show that the vapor bath treatment improved the fatigue life by a factor of two on average, but the variability in the specimen lifetime increased. Investigation of the fracture surface via optical and scanning electron microscopy reveals a complex fracture path with crack nucleation at multiple sites. Based on the observations from the study, suggestions are made to improve the fatigue lives of 3D printed ABS polymer components.