Investigating pressure advance algorithms for filament-based melt extrusion additive manufacturing: theory, practice and simulations

Purpose This paper aims to present the mathematical foundation of so-called advance algorithms, developed to compensate for defects during acceleration and deacceleration of the print head in filament-based melt extrusion additive processes. It then investigates the validity of the mathematical foundation, its performance on a low-cost system and the effect of changing layer height on the algorithm’s associated process parameter. Design/methodology/approach This study starts with a compilation and review of literature associated with advance algorithms, then elaborates on its mathematical foundation and methods of implementation. Then an experiment displaying the performance of the algorithm implemented in Marlin machine firmware, Linear Advance 1.0, is performed using three different layer heights. The results are then compared with simulations of the system using Simulink. Findings Findings suggests that advance algorithms following the presented approach is capable of eliminating defects because of acceleration and deacceleration of the print head. The results indicate a layer height dependency on the associated process parameter, requiring higher compensation values for lower layer heights. It also shows higher compensation values for acceleration than deacceleration. Results from the simulated mathematical model correspond well with the experimental results but predict some rapid variations in flow rate that is not reflected in the experimental results. Research limitations/implications As there are large variations in printer design and materials, deviation between different setups must be expected. Originality/value To the best of authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to describe and investigate advance algorithms in academic literature.

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Influence of fiber stacking sequences and matrix materials on mechanical and vibration behavior of jute/carbon hybrid composites

World Journal of Engineering ◽

10.1108/wje-01-2021-0008 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽

Author(s):

Sathiyamoorthy Margabandu ◽

Senthil Kumar Subramaniam

Keyword(s):

Tensile Strength ◽

Hybrid Composites ◽

Low Cost ◽

Laminated Composite ◽

Experimental Results ◽

Element Analysis ◽

Content Type ◽

Vibration Behavior ◽

Damping Behavior ◽

Composite Models

Purpose The study aims to investigate the influence of fabric hybridization, stacking sequences and matrix materials on the tensile strength and damping behavior of jute/carbon reinforced hybrid composites. Design/methodology/approach The hybrid composites were fabricated with different sequences of fabric plies in epoxy and polyester matrix using a hand layup technique. The tensile and vibration characteristics were evaluated on the hybrid laminated composite models using finite element analysis (FEA), and the results were validated experimentally according to ASTM standards. The surface morphology of the fractured specimens was studied using the scanning electron microscope. Findings The experimental results revealed that the position of jute layers in the hybrid composites has a significant influence on the tensile strength and damping behavior. The hybrid composite with jute fiber at the surface sides and carbon fibers at the middle exhibited higher tensile strength with superior damping properties. Further, it is found that the experimental results are in good coherence with the FEA results. Originality/value The less weight and low-cost hybrid composites were fabricated by incorporating the jute and carbon fabrics in interply configurations. The influences of fabric hybridization, stacking arrangements and matrix materials on the tensile and vibration behavior of jute/carbon hybrid composites have been numerically evaluated and the results were experimentally validated.

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Multi‐dimensional switched reluctance motors for industrial applications

Industrial Robot the international journal of robotics research and application ◽

10.1108/01439911111132102 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 38 (4) ◽

pp. 419-428

Author(s):

J.F. Pan ◽

Norbert Cheung

Keyword(s):

Performance Prediction ◽

Low Cost ◽

Design Procedure ◽

Experimental Results ◽

Circuit Board ◽

Small Scale ◽

Direct Drive ◽

Element Analysis ◽

Content Type ◽

Switched Reluctance

PurposeThe paper aims to discuss a new direction of design outline of four‐axis machine with multi‐dimensional motors. It proposes an integrated, direct‐drive machine based on switched reluctance (SR) principles. This includes how the machine is constructed and the structure of each axis of motion. The simulation and control results are also provided for performance prediction. The study aims to provide a solution and find applications for high‐performance, low‐cost manufacturing facilities.Design/methodology/approachThe study is based on simulation and experimental results for performance prediction of the multi‐dimensional motors. With the approach of grounded theory on SR machines, design and construction of each axis of motion is verified with finite element analysis. Then, corresponding control strategy is provided for the control of each axis of motion. Some corresponding experimental results are carried out to verify motor performance.FindingsThe paper provides a general design procedure for direct‐drive, integrated, multi‐dimensional SR motors. It suggests a mechanically robust, low‐cost and simple machine structure for potential applications of industrial multi‐axis machines.Research limitations/implicationsConsidering the performance from the prototype, it is expected to find applications in low‐level force and torque output such as automated small‐scale printed circuit board drillings.Practical implicationsOwing to the limitations of the present study, the machine needs further control tests for robust or adaptive applications. Therefore, researchers are encouraged to implement further advanced control strategies on the machine.Originality/valueThe authors attempt to provide a comprehensive solution of multi‐axis machine design based on direct‐drive, low‐cost multi‐dimensional SR motors.

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Additive manufacturing by material extrusion with medical grade silicone elastomers and IR laser curing

Rapid Prototyping Journal ◽

10.1108/rpj-10-2018-0279 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 26 (1) ◽

pp. 145-155 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Daniel A. Porter ◽

Nicholas Davis ◽

Paul S. Krueger ◽

Adam L. Cohen ◽

David Son

Keyword(s):

Additive Manufacturing ◽

Tensile Stress ◽

Laser Power ◽

Three Dimensional ◽

Process Parameter ◽

Content Type ◽

Layer Height ◽

Ir Laser ◽

Laser Curing ◽

Medical Grade

Purpose Techniques of extrude and cure additive manufacturing for thermally cured, high viscosity and medical-grade silicone are investigated by using a small ram extruder and a near-infrared (IR) laser. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the process parameter effects on the stiffness of the final products. Design/methodology/approach Process parameter effects on axial stiffness values and durometer are explored. Parameters such as extrusion layer height, laser speed, laser current, laser raster spacing and multiple laser passes were investigated and compared to traditional cast and cure methods. Dimensional changes were also recorded and compared. Findings Tensile and durometer tests show that certain curing parameters give tensile stress and durometers within 10 per cent of bulk material specifications at 200 per cent strain. Parameters that had the highest impact on tensile stress at 200 per cent strain were layer height (0.73 per cent) followed by laser power (0.69 per cent), and then laser raster spacing (0.45 per cent). Parameters that had the highest impact on durometer were laser power (1.00 per cent), followed by layer height, (0.34 per cent) and then laser raster speed (0.32 per cent). Three-dimensional printed samples had about 11.2 per cent more shrinkage than the bulk cast samples in the longest dimension. Originality/value This paper is one of the first that demonstrates near IR laser curing parameter effects on three-dimensional printed, commercial off-the-shelf, medical-grade and viscous silicone. The ability to cure very viscous thermosets locally enables interesting technologies such as wire encapsulation, high voltage actuators and drug delivery devices.

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Methodology for the additive manufacture of embedded conductive paths connecting microelectromechanical sensors using conductive and flexible filaments with extrusion devices

Rapid Prototyping Journal ◽

10.1108/rpj-03-2019-0058 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 26 (2) ◽

pp. 349-359 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Chuan Cao ◽

Aitor Cazón-Martín ◽

María Isabel Rodriguez-Ferradas ◽

Paz Morer-Camo ◽

Luis Matey-Muñoz ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Low Cost ◽

Measurement Unit ◽

Cross Contamination ◽

Conductive Filament ◽

Content Type ◽

Layer Height ◽

Conductive Path ◽

Extrusion Technology ◽

Dual Material ◽

Printing Speed

Purpose The purpose of this study is to explore a methodology for connecting microelectromechanical system sensors – i.e. inertial measurement unit (IMU) – to an Arduino-based microcontroller, using graphene-based conductive filament and flexible thermoplastic polyurethane (FTPU) filament and low-cost dual material extrusion technology. Design/methodology/approach A series of electrical tests were carried out to determine the maximum resistance the conductive paths may take to connect printed circuit boards (PCB). To select the most suitable printing material, three types of conductive filaments were examined. Then an experiment was carried out to find the best printing parameters in terms of printing speed, printing temperature and layer height to minimise resistivity. The size of the conductive path was also analysed. A final prototype was designed and printed according to optimised printing settings and maximum allowable resistances for each line and considering different geometries and printing strategies to reduce cross-contamination among paths. Findings For the Black Magic 3D conductive filament, the printing speed and layer height played a significant role regarding resistivity, while the printing temperature was not very important. The infill pattern of the conductive paths had to be aligned with the expected current path, while using air gaps between two adjacent paths resulted in the best approach to reducing cross-contamination. Moreover, the cross-section size of the conductive path did not affect the volume resistivity. When combined with FTPU filament constraints, the prototype yielded suitable electrical performance and printing quality when printed at a temperature of 220°C, speed of 20 mm/s and layer height of 0.2 mm. Originality/value This paper explores a systematic methodology for the additive manufacturing of commercial conductive material using low-cost extrusion technology to connect complex electronics when data transmission is a key feature.

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UAV attitude estimation based on the dual filtering methods

International Journal of Intelligent Unmanned Systems ◽

10.1108/ijius-09-2017-0010 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 6 (1) ◽

pp. 21-31 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Zhemin Zhuang ◽

Zhijie Guo ◽

Alex Noel Joseph Raj ◽

Canzhu Guo

Keyword(s):

Traditional Method ◽

Low Cost ◽

Attitude Estimation ◽

Convergence Speed ◽

Experimental Results ◽

Convergence Time ◽

Accelerometer Data ◽

Traditional Methods ◽

Content Type ◽

Flight Data

Purpose A toy UAV performs tumbling, rolling, racing and other complex activities. It is based on low-cost hardware and hence requires a better algorithm to estimate the attitudes more accurately with low power consumption. The proposed technique based on optimized Madgwick filter and moving average filter (MAF) ensures improved convergence speed in estimating the attitude, achieves higher accuracy and provides robustness and stability of the toy UAV. The paper aims to discuss this issue. Design/methodology/approach Traditional methods are prone to problems such as slow convergence speed and errors in calculation of the attitude angles. These errors cause the vehicle to drift and tremble, thus affecting the overall stability of the vehicle. The proposed method combines the features of optimized Madgwick filter and MAF to provide better accuracy, achieved through the fusion of gyroscope and accelerometer data, and zero correction to eliminate the random drift error of the gyroscope and removal of high-frequency interference by MAF of the accelerometer data. The experimental results on actual flight data showed that the method was better than the conventional Madgwick and Mahony complementary filters. Findings The performance of the proposed method was analyzed by estimating the pitch and roll angles under the static and dynamic condition of the toy UAV. The results were compared with two traditional methods: Madgwick and Mahony complement filter. In the static condition, the variance and average error while estimating the attitudes was comparatively lower than the traditional method. For the dynamic conditions, the convergence time to achieve a prescribed swing angle was again lower than the traditional method. From these two experiments, it can be seen that the proposed method provides better attitude estimation at lower computation time. Originality/value The proposed method combines the optimized Madgwick filter and MAF to accuracy estimate the attitude of toy UAV. The algorithm mainly suits the toy UAVs which are based on low-cost hardware and require better control systems to ensure stability of the vehicle. The experimental results on real flight data illustrate that the method not only improves the convergence speed in estimating the attitude angle for large maneuvers of the toy UAV, but also achieves higher accuracy in the attitude estimation, thus ensuring the robustness and stability of the UAV.

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Low-Cost System Handles Patient Phone Calls

Internal Medicine News ◽

10.1016/s1097-8690(07)70680-7 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 40 (11) ◽

pp. 53

Author(s):

BRUCE K. DIXON

Keyword(s):

Low Cost ◽

Cost System ◽

Phone Calls

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Intelligent, low-cost system for fume control during laser material processing

International Laser Safety Conference ◽

10.2351/1.5056599 ◽

2005 ◽

Author(s):

Ramin Sattari ◽

Stephan Barcikowski ◽

Thomas Püster ◽

Andreas Ostendorf ◽

Heinz Haferkamp

Keyword(s):

Material Processing ◽

Low Cost ◽

Laser Material Processing ◽

Laser Material ◽

Cost System

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Developing an Inkjet Printer I: RGB Image to CMY Ink Amounts - Image Processing and Color Management

Electronic Imaging ◽

10.2352/issn.2470-1173.2020.15.color-282 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 2020 (15) ◽

pp. 350-1-350-10

Author(s):

Yin Wang ◽

Baekdu Choi ◽

Davi He ◽

Zillion Lin ◽

George Chiu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Image Processing ◽

Low Cost ◽

Experimental Results ◽

Color Management ◽

Finger Nail ◽

Inkjet Printer ◽

Rgb Image ◽

Novel Algorithm

In this paper, we will introduce a novel low-cost, small size, portable nail printer. The usage of this system is to print any desired pattern on a finger nail in just a few minutes. The detailed pre-processing procedures will be described in this paper. These include image processing to find the correct printing zone, and color management to match the patterns’ color. In each phase, a novel algorithm will be introduced to refine the result. The paper will state the mathematical principles behind each phase, and show the experimental results, which illustrate the algorithms’ capabilities to handle the task.

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