The strain-rate sensitivity of the yield stress for Acrylonitrile-Butadiene-Styrene (ABS)
tensile samples processed via material extrusion additive manufacturing (ME-AM) was investigated.
Such specimens show molecular orientation and interstitial voids that affect the mechanical
properties. Apparent densities were measured to compensate for the interstitial voids. Three different
printing speeds were used to generate ME-AM tensile test samples with different molecular
orientation. Printing velocities influenced molecular orientation and stretch, as determined from
thermal shrinkage measurements. Likewise, infill velocity affected the strain-rate dependence of the
yield stress. The ABS material manifests thermorheollogically simple behavior that can correctly be
described by an Eyring flow rule. The changing activation volume, as a result of a varying print velocity,
scales linearly with the molecular orientation, as captured in an estimated processing-induced
pre-strain. Therefore, it is suggested that ME-AM processed ABS shows a deformation-dependent
activation volume. This paper can be seen as initial work that can help to improve quantitative
predictive numerical tools for ME-AM, taking into account the effects that the processing step has on
the mechanical properties.
