Abstract
The purpose of this study is to determine impact of several multi-axis 3D printing strategies on buildability, surface quality, accuracy, and strength of large scale single-walled object (printed in a so called vase mode). To achieve this goal, test objects were printed using four different printing strategies by an industrial robotic arm and a pellet-fed screw extruder. The strategies tested in this study are regular 3-axis deposition with planar layers, 5-axis deposition with planar layers, 3-axis deposition with nonplanar layers, and 5-axis deposition with nonplanar layers. Custom scripts for nonplanar slicing and for tilt control during multiaxis printing were developed to achieve these prints and are explained in this study. The results were evaluated using 3D scanning and mechanical testing, and surface accuracy, surface roughness, and layer adhesion strength were compared. The most important findings are (1) 5-axis motion alone does not improve the results of the printing; (2) while nonplanar printing can improve surface quality, its usability is geometry dependent; and (3) multi-axis nonplanar printing, even with partial tilt (30°) can expand printability with enhanced quality to at least 75° overhang angle. The future potential of these methods and the requirements to achieve them are discussed.
Similar content being viewed by others
Availability of data and material
Included as a supplementary file.
Code availability
Included as a supplementary file.
References
Ngo TD, Kashani A, Imbalzano G et al (2018) Additive manufacturing (3D printing): a review of materials, methods, applications and challenges. Compos Part B Eng. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compositesb.2018.02.012
Thrimurthulu K, Pandey PM, Reddy NV, Venkata Reddy N (2004) Optimum part deposition orientation in fused deposition modeling. Int J Mach Tools Manuf 44:585–594
Jiang J, Newman ST, Zhong RY (2021) A review of multiple degrees of freedom for additive manufacturing machines. Int J Comput Integr Manuf 34:195–211. https://doi.org/10.1080/0951192X.2020.1858510
Xu K, Chen L, Tang K (2019) Support-free layered process planning toward 3 + 2-axis additive manufacturing. IEEE Trans Autom Sci Eng 16:838–850. https://doi.org/10.1109/TASE.2018.2867230
Fry NR, Richardson RC, Boyle JH (2020) Robotic additive manufacturing system for dynamic build orientations. Rapid Prototyp J 26:659–667. https://doi.org/10.1108/RPJ-09-2019-0243
Li Y, Tang K, He D, Wang X (2021) Multi-axis support-free printing of freeform parts with lattice infill structures. CAD Comput Aided Des 133:1–38. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cad.2020.102986
Jiang J, Ma Y (2020) Path planning strategies to optimize accuracy, quality, build time and material use in additive manufacturing: A review. Micromachines 11. https://doi.org/10.3390/MI11070633
Nisja GA, Cao A, Gao C (2021) Short review of nonplanar fused deposition modeling printing. Mater Des Process Commun 3:3. https://doi.org/10.1002/mdp2.221
Pérez-Castillo JL, Cuan-Urquizo E, Roman-Flores A et al (2021) Curved layered fused filament fabrication: an overview. Addit Manuf 47. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addma.2021.102354
Zhao HM, He Y, Fu YZ, Qiu JJ (2018) Inclined layer printing for fused deposition modeling without assisted supporting structure. Robot Comput Integr Manuf 51:1–13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rcim.2017.11.011
Yang Y, Fuh JYH, Loh HT, Wong YS (2003) Multi-orientational deposition to minimize support in the layered manufacturing process. J Manuf Syst 22:116–129. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0278-6125(03)90009-4
Kalami H, Urbanic J (2021) Exploration of surface roughness measurement solutions for additive manufactured components built by multi-axis tool paths. Addit Manuf 38:101822. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addma.2020.101822
Pan Y, Zhou C, Chen Y, Partanen J (2014) Multitool and multi-axis computer numerically controlled accumulation for fabricating conformal features on curved surfaces. J Manuf Sci Eng Trans ASME 136. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4026898
Gosselin C, Duballet R, Roux P et al (2016) Large-scale 3D printing of ultra-high performance concrete — a new processing route for architects and builders. Mater Des 100:102–109. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matdes.2016.03.097
Bi D, Xie F, Tang K (2021) Generation of efficient iso-planar printing path for multi-axis fdm printing. J Manuf Mater Process 5. https://doi.org/10.3390/jmmp5020059
Mitropoulou I, Bernhard M, Dillenburger B (2020) Print paths key-framing: design for non-planar layered robotic FDM printing. Proc - SCF 2020 ACM Symp Comput Fabr. https://doi.org/10.1145/3424630.3425408
Kubalak JR, Wicks AL, Williams CB (2019) Exploring multi-axis material extrusion additive manufacturing for improving mechanical properties of printed parts. Rapid Prototyp J 25:356–362. https://doi.org/10.1108/RPJ-02-2018-0035
Chakraborty D, Aneesh Reddy B, Roy Choudhury A (2008) Extruder path generation for curved layer fused deposition modeling. CAD Comput Aided Des 40:235–243. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cad.2007.10.014
Huang B, Singamneni SB (2015) Curved layer adaptive slicing (CLAS) for fused deposition modelling. Rapid Prototyp J 21:354–367. https://doi.org/10.1108/RPJ-06-2013-0059
Huang B, Singamneni S (2014) Curved layer fused deposition modeling with varying raster orientations. Appl Mech Mater 446–447:263–269. https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMM.446-447.263
Singamneni S, Roychoudhury A, Diegel O, Huang B (2012) Modeling and evaluation of curved layer fused deposition. J Mater Process Technol 212:27–35. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmatprotec.2011.08.001
Huang B (2014) Alternate slicing and deposition. Strategies for Fused Deposition Modelling 55:511–517
Huang B, Singamneni S (2015) A mixed-layer approach combining both flat and curved layer slicing for fused deposition modelling. Proc Inst Mech Eng Part B J Eng Manuf 229:2238–2249. https://doi.org/10.1177/0954405414551076
Zhao G, Ma G, Feng J, Xiao W (2018) Nonplanar slicing and path generation methods for robotic additive manufacturing. Int J Adv Manuf Technol 96:3149–3159. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-018-1772-9
Schuh G, Bergweiler G, Lukas G et al (2020) Feature-based print method for multi-axis material extrusion in additive manufacturing. Procedia CIRP 93:85–89
Ezair B, Fuhrmann S, Elber G (2018) Volumetric covering print-paths for additive manufacturing of 3D models. CAD Comput Aided Des 100:1–13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cad.2018.02.006
Allen RJA, Trask RS (2015) An experimental demonstration of effective curved layer fused filament fabrication utilising a parallel deposition robot. Addit Manuf 8:78–87. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addma.2015.09.001
Etienne J, Ray N, Panozzo D et al (2019) Curvislicer: Slightly curved slicing for 3-axis printers. ACM Trans Graph 38. https://doi.org/10.1145/3306346.3323022
Xu K, Li Y, Chen L, Tang K (2019) Curved layer based process planning for multi-axis volume printing of freeform parts. CAD Comput Aided Des 114:51–63. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cad.2019.05.007
Fang G, Zhang T, Zhong S et al (2020) Reinforced FDM: Multi-axis filament alignment with controlled anisotropic strength. ACM Trans Graph 39. https://doi.org/10.1145/3414685.3417834
Dai C, Wang CCL, Wu C et al (2018)Support-free volume printing by multi-axis motion. ACM Trans Graph 37. https://doi.org/10.1145/3197517.3201342
Brell-Çokcan S, Braumann J (2011) Parametric robot control. Proc 31st Annu Conf Assoc Comput Aided Des Archit 242–251
Roschli A, Gaul KT, Boulger AM et al (2019) Designing for big area additive manufacturing. Addit Manuf 25:275–285. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addma.2018.11.006
Hertle S, Drexler M, Drummer D (2016) Additive manufacturing of poly(propylene) by means of melt extrusion. Macromol Mater Eng 301:1482–1493. https://doi.org/10.1002/mame.201600259
Duty CE, Kunc V, Compton B et al (2017) Structure and mechanical behavior of Big Area Additive Manufacturing (BAAM) materials. Rapid Prototyp J 23:181–189. https://doi.org/10.1108/RPJ-12-2015-0183
Elber G, Cohen E (1996) Adaptive isocurve-based rendering for freeform surfaces. ACM Trans Graph 15:249–263. https://doi.org/10.1145/231731.231736
Dizon JRC, Espera AH, Chen Q, Advincula RC (2018) Mechanical characterization of 3D-printed polymers. Addit Manuf 20:44–67. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addma.2017.12.002
Acknowledgements
The Moai Head model (Used in Fig. 18) was used under CC licence from: https://www.myminifactory.com/object/3d-print-moai-or-mo-ai-75141.
Funding
This research was partially funded by a faculty project of FME BUT, FSI-S-20–6296.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
Not applicable.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Supplementary information
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Krčma, M., Paloušek, D. Comparison of the effects of multiaxis printing strategies on large-scale 3D printed surface quality, accuracy, and strength. Int J Adv Manuf Technol 119, 7109–7120 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-022-08685-4
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-022-08685-4