scholarly journals Integration of Additive Manufacturing, Parametric Design, and Optimization of Parts Obtained by Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM). A Methodological Approach

Polymers ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (9) ◽  
pp. 1993 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amabel García-Dominguez ◽  
Juan Claver ◽  
Miguel A. Sebastián

The use of current computer tools in both manufacturing and design stages breaks with the traditional conception of productive process, including successive stages of projection, representation, and manufacturing. Designs can be programmed as problems to be solved by using computational tools based on complex algorithms to optimize and produce more effective solutions. Additive manufacturing technologies enhance these possibilities by providing great geometric freedom to the materialization phase. This work presents a design methodology for the optimization of parts produced by additive manufacturing and explores the synergies between additive manufacturing, parametric design, and optimization processes to guide their integration into the proposed methodology. By using Grasshopper, a visual programming application, a continuous data flow for parts optimization is defined. Parametric design tools support the structural optimization of the general geometry, the infill, and the shell structure to obtain lightweight designs. Thus, the final shapes are obtained as a result of the optimization process which starts from basic geometries, not from an initial design. The infill does not correspond to pre-established patterns, and its elements are sized in a non-uniform manner throughout the piece to respond to different local loads. Mass customization and Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) systems represent contexts of special potential for this methodology.

Polymers ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (9) ◽  
pp. 2119 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amabel García-Dominguez ◽  
Juan Claver ◽  
Miguel A. Sebastián

Additive manufacturing technologies offer important new manufacturing possibilities, but its potential is so big that only with the support of other technologies can it really be exploited. In that sense, parametric design and design optimization tools appear as two appropriate complements for additive manufacturing. Synergies existing between these three technologies allow for integrated approaches to the design of customized and optimized products. While additive manufacturing makes it possible to materialize overly complex geometries, parametric design allows designs to be adapted to custom characteristics and optimization helps to choose the best solution according to the objectives. This work represents an application development of a previous work published in Polymers which exposed the general structure, operation and opportunities of a methodology that integrates these three technologies by using visual programming with Grasshopper. In this work, the different stages of the methodology and the way in which each one modifies the final design are exposed in detail, applying it to a case study: the design of a shoe heel for FDM—an interesting example both from the perspectives of ergonomic and mass customization. Programming, operation and results are exposed in detail showing the complexity, usefulness and potential of the methodology, with the aim of helping other researchers to develop proposals in this line.


2011 ◽  
Vol 199-200 ◽  
pp. 1984-1987 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olaf Diegel ◽  
Sarat Singamneni ◽  
Ben Huang ◽  
Ian Gibson

This paper describes a curved-layer additive manufacturing technology that has the potential to print plastic components with integral conductive polymer electronic circuits. Researchers at AUT University in New Zealand and the National University of Singapore have developed a novel Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) process in which the layers of material that make up the part are deposited as curved layers instead of the conventional flat layers. This technology opens up possibilities of building curved plastic parts that have conductive electronic tracks and components printed as an integral part of the plastic component, thereby eliminating printed circuit boards and wiring. It is not possible to do this with existing flat-layer additive manufacturing technologies as the continuity of a circuit could be interrupted between the layers. With curved-layer fused deposition modeling (CLFDM) this problem is removed as continuous filaments in 3 dimensions can be produced, allowing for continuous conductive circuits.


2011 ◽  
Vol 467-469 ◽  
pp. 662-667 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olaf Diegel ◽  
Sarat Singamneni ◽  
Ben Huang ◽  
Ian Gibson

This paper describes an additive manufacturing technology that has the potential to print plastic components with integral conductive polymer electronic circuits. This could have a major impact in the fields of robotics and mechatronics as it has the potential to allow large wiring looms, often an issue with complex robotic systems, to be printed as an integral part of the products plastic shell. This paper describes the development of a novel Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) process in which the layers of material that make up the part are deposited as curved layers instead of the conventional flat layers. This opens up possibilities of building curved plastic parts that have conductive electronic tracks and components printed as an integral part of the plastic component, thereby eliminating printed circuit boards and wiring. It is not possible to do this with existing flatlayer additive manufacturing technologies as the continuity of a circuit could be interrupted between the layers. With curved-layer fused deposition modeling (CLFDM) this problem is removed as continuous filaments in 3 dimensions can be produced, allowing for continuous conductive circuits.


Author(s):  
Mouna Ben Salem ◽  
Guillaume Aiche ◽  
Yassine Haddab ◽  
Lennart Rubbert ◽  
Pierre Renaud

Abstract Bistable mechanisms can be used for performing specific functions such as locking or negative stiffness generation. These compliant structures are then of interest at different scales, with different corresponding manufacturing technologies. One of them is additive manufacturing, which is interesting for the integration of such structures. Although this technology has undergone a revolution with the development of high-accuracy machines, the manufacturing of small-sized compliant structures is still quite a challenge especially for bistable mechanisms, which was not yet finely characterized. This is the focus of this paper, with presentation of an experimental and analytical confrontation in the case of Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM).


Author(s):  
Arash Alex Mazhari ◽  
Randall Ticknor ◽  
Sean Swei ◽  
Stanley Krzesniak ◽  
Mircea Teodorescu

AbstractThe sensitivity of additive manufacturing (AM) to the variability of feedstock quality, machine calibration, and accuracy drives the need for frequent characterization of fabricated objects for a robust material process. The constant testing is fiscally and logistically intensive, often requiring coupons that are manufactured and tested in independent facilities. As a step toward integrating testing and characterization into the AM process while reducing cost, we propose the automated testing and characterization of AM (ATCAM). ATCAM is configured for fused deposition modeling (FDM) and introduces the concept of dynamic coupons to generate large quantities of basic AM samples. An in situ actuator is printed on the build surface to deploy coupons through impact, which is sensed by a load cell system utilizing machine learning (ML) to correlate AM data. We test ATCAM’s ability to distinguish the quality of three PLA feedstock at differing price points by generating and comparing 3000 dynamic coupons in 10 repetitions of 100 coupon cycles per material. ATCAM correlated the quality of each feedstock and visualized fatigue of in situ actuators over each testing cycle. Three ML algorithms were then compared, with Gradient Boost regression demonstrating a 71% correlation of dynamic coupons to their parent feedstock and provided confidence for the quality of AM data ATCAM generates.


2018 ◽  
Vol 141 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hari P. N. Nagarajan ◽  
Hossein Mokhtarian ◽  
Hesam Jafarian ◽  
Saoussen Dimassi ◽  
Shahriar Bakrani-Balani ◽  
...  

Additive manufacturing (AM) continues to rise in popularity due to its various advantages over traditional manufacturing processes. AM interests industry, but achieving repeatable production quality remains problematic for many AM technologies. Thus, modeling different process variables in AM using machine learning can be highly beneficial in creating useful knowledge of the process. Such developed artificial neural network (ANN) models would aid designers and manufacturers to make informed decisions about their products and processes. However, it is challenging to define an appropriate ANN topology that captures the AM system behavior. Toward that goal, an approach combining dimensional analysis conceptual modeling (DACM) and classical ANNs is proposed to create a new type of knowledge-based ANN (KB-ANN). This approach integrates existing literature and expert knowledge of the AM process to define a topology for the KB-ANN model. The proposed KB-ANN is a hybrid learning network that encompasses topological zones derived from knowledge of the process and other zones where missing knowledge is modeled using classical ANNs. The usefulness of the method is demonstrated using a case study to model wall thickness, part height, and total part mass in a fused deposition modeling (FDM) process. The KB-ANN-based model for FDM has the same performance with better generalization capabilities using fewer weights trained, when compared to a classical ANN.


Author(s):  
Meng Zhang ◽  
Xiaoxu Song ◽  
Weston Grove ◽  
Emmett Hull ◽  
Z. J. Pei ◽  
...  

Additive manufacturing (AM) is a class of manufacturing processes where material is deposited in a layer-by-layer fashion to fabricate a three-dimensional part directly from a computer-aided design model. With a current market share of 44%, thermoplastic-based additive manufacturing such as fused deposition modeling (FDM) is a prevailing technology. A key challenge for AM parts (especially for parts made by FDM) in engineering applications is the weak inter-layer adhesion. The lack of bonding between filaments usually results in delamination and mechanical failure. To address this challenge, this study embedded carbon nanotubes into acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) thermoplastics via a filament extrusion process. The vigorous response of carbon nanotubes to microwave irradiation, leading to the release of a large amount of heat, is used to melt the ABS thermoplastic matrix adjacent to carbon nanotubes within a very short time period. This treatment is found to enhance the inter-layer adhesion without bulk heating to deform the 3D printed parts. Tensile and flexural tests were performed to evaluation the effects of microwave irradiation on mechanical properties of the specimens made by FDM. Scanning electron microscopic (SEM) images were taken to characterize the fracture surfaces of tensile test specimens. The actual carbon nanotube contents in the filaments were measured by conducting thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The effects of microwave irradiation on the electrical resistivity of the filament were also reported.


2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 462-472 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oluwakayode Bamiduro ◽  
Gbadebo Owolabi ◽  
Mulugeta A. Haile ◽  
Jaret C. Riddick

Purpose The continual growth of additive manufacturing has increased tremendously because of its versatility, flexibility and high customization of geometric structures. However, design hurdles are presented in understanding the relationship between the fabrication process and materials microstructure as it relates to the mechanical performance. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of build architecture and microstructure and the effects of load direction on the static response and mechanical properties of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) specimens obtained via the fused deposition modeling (FDM) processing technique. Design/methodology/approach Among additive manufacturing processes, FDM is a prolific technology for manufacturing ABS. The blend of ABS combines strength, rigidity and toughness, all of which are desirable for the production of structural materials in rapid manufacturing applications. However, reported literature has varied widely on the mechanical performance due to the proprietary nature of the ABS material ratio, ultimately creating a design hurdle. While prior experimental studies have studied the mechanical response via uniaxial tension testing, this study has aimed to understand the mechanical response of ABS from the materials’ microstructural point of view. First, ABS specimen was fabricated via FDM using a defined build architecture. Next, the specimens were mechanically tested until failure. Then finally, the failure structures were microstructurally investigated. In this paper, the effects of microstructural evolution on the static mechanical response of various build architecture of ABS aimed at FDM manufacturing technique was analyzed. Findings The results show that the rastering orientation of 0/90 exhibited the highest tensile strength followed by fracture at its maximum load. However, the “45” bead direction of the ABS fibers displayed a cold-drawing behavior before rupture. The morphology analyses before and after tensile failure were characterized by a scanning electron microscopy (SEM) which highlighted the effects of bead geometry (layers) and areas of stress concentration such as interstitial voids in the material during build, ultimately compromising the structural integrity of the specimens. Research limitations/implications The ability to control the constituents and microstructure of a material during fabrication is significant to improving and predicting the mechanical performance of structural additive manufacturing components. In this report, the effects of microstructure on the mechanical performance of FDM-fabricated ABS materials was discussed. Further investigations are planned in understanding the effects of ambient environmental conditions (such as moisture) on the ABS material pre- and post-fabrication. Originality/value The study provides valuable experimental data for the purpose of understanding the inter-dependency between build parameters and microstructure as it relates to the specimens exemplified strength. The results highlighted in this study are fundamental to the development of optimal design of strength and complex ultra-lightweight structure efficiency.


Author(s):  
Michael D. Kutzer ◽  
Levi D. DeVries ◽  
Cooper D. Blas

Additive manufacturing (AM) technologies have become almost universal in concept development, prototyping, and education. Advances in materials and methods continue to extend this technology to small batch and complex part manufacturing for the public and private sectors. Despite the growing popularity of digital cameras in AM systems, use of image data for part monitoring is largely unexplored. This paper presents a new method for estimating the 3D internal structure of fused deposition modeling (FDM) processes using image data from a single digital camera. Relative transformations are established using motion capture, and the 3D model is created using knowledge of the deposition path coupled with assumptions about the deposition cross-section. Results show that part geometry can be estimated and visualized using the methods presented in this work.


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