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IUT of Limousin Visit www.DeepL.com/Pro for more information. 2013-2014

Aerodynamic eau test model pump

VI -4 - THE FILAMENTARY DEPOT

a - The stratasys solution

This process developed in 1988 under the name of Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) consists of a
melt distribution head, mounted on a non-contact XY-orientation mechanism. The principle is simple:
the head melts the material which is in the form of a hot melt wire deposited on the part being
produced with immediate solidification.

SpoolPlastic
thread

Drive PartX
Heated
nozzle

Y
Diagram of Extrusion principe Head
In practice, the head is double, a part for the material of the part, a part for the material of wedging
essential for complex shapes. The machines have a second source of material for the generation of the
supports. A second nozzle deposits a material that is immiscible with the main material, it is chemically
unlimited.

b - Technological parameters
If the principle is simple to describe, the
parameters that influence it are numerous and
their interactions quite complex. The starting
material is a wire of cylindrical section whose
diameter is reduced during the passage in the
heating nozzle which allows the plasticization
stage.
essential for distribution. dimension is produced.
The diameter of the nozzle determines the important to
minimum volume of material that the device will target the
be able to deposit. With a 0.25 mm nozzle, it is not types of parts
possible to produce lower thicknesses. This that can be
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Spool wire
Nozzle outlet 0.25 mm or 0.5 mm diameter 1.75
mm
or 3 mm

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Another important parameter is the height of the strata. In some machines it is not modifiable by the
operator, for others it is possible to choose a more precise step than the nominal value. The choice of
the pitch is decisive for the production time because then there are fewer layers. However, the window
for setting the stratum height is limited by the size of the extrusion nozzle. When overlapping the strata,
the wire produced by the nozzle is crushed or calibrated by the lower plane of the nozzle.
Case Case n°1 -
n°1 section

Simulation with : The wire is crushed and calibrated through the

stratum height = 0.2 mm and nozzle ø = 0.5 mm bottom of the nozzle. The unit thickness is greater.
Case 2 Case n°1 -
section

Simulation with :
stratum height = 0.5 mm and nozzle ø = 0.5 mm The wire is not crushed, the layers are glued with a
tiny surface.
Notes :
In case n°1, the wire is crushed by the melting nozzle, the bonding is ensured by a large contact
surface, the minimum width achievable is greater, more layers are needed at equal part height.
In case n°2, the wire is not crushed, the layers are superimposed by the tangential contact. Gluing is
reliable or even null, the part is fragile.
A third parameter can intervene: the speed difference between the extrusion of the wire and the
movement of the nozzle on the part. When the extrusion speed is higher than the movement, the
material is pressed against the lower stratum with an increase in the width of the deposited wire. On the
other hand, the produced wire does not adhere to the previous stratum, the part is not viable.

The main parameters of the FDM process are :

- Stratification height
- The nozzle diameter, which is a constant sometimes not given by the
manufacturer.
- The melting temperature of the material is often transparent to the user.
- the extrusion speed of the material in the heated nozzle To
be remembered! - the
speed of movement of the nozzle on the support
plate.

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c - Management of supports and distinct elements on a stratum
This function is provided in two ways that may or may not apply simultaneously:
- Manufacturing begins on a polymer tray on which the first layer is bonded during liquid
deposition. This tray ensures horizontal cohesion.
- A different type of material is used to make supports that serve as props in the vertical direction
or as a connection in the horizontal direction. These supports are generated automatically or
assisted during the layer calculations and must be destroyed to recover the desired part
geometry. To facilitate this operation the material can be dissolved either in water or in specific
solutions (soda). This lengthens the post-treatment before final use of the part.
In some economic machines, the second material does not exist, it is replaced by supports of small

Roo Room
m

Room

Media to
be
Plateau
destroye
sections with reduced hooks with geometry to facilitate separation. d

- d-
Examples of machines and achievements

Head guidance
extrusion process must be
precise to ensure high
dispensing accuracy.

Available materials are polyamides, polypropylenes, ABS, foundry

waxes or machinable waxes. The material can be rigid or flexible to
simulate elastomer parts.
The overall accuracy is 0.15 mm to 0.1 mm, machine capacities
are up to 600x600x600 mm.
These machines are highly appreciated for the low cost of the
material compared to other processes.
However, the precision of the shapes and their rendering is
limited due to the minimum diameter of the wire deposition nozzle.
The professional machines have heated enclosures that strongly
limit deformation of the workpiece due to material shrinkage during
cooling.

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The applications are varied:

Prototype shell 3D sensor

The professional machines are dimensioned for serial production. Their production speed is very
high. The advent of internet sites for online sales of all types of parts for the private individual or the
professional has accelerated the transition from prototype to series production. Some aircraft cabin
fittings parts are only obtained in additive manufacturing.

Examples of serial production lines

The main patents have fallen into the public domain since 2010. Since this date, many projects for the
creation of extrusion machines have been created, some of them with real commercial success. The
starting point was the RepRap project initiated by a British Professor from the University of Bath.

e - Alternative solutions
Since then, the competitive offer has seriously expanded with machines that are increasingly
affordable both in terms of cost (purchase and ownership) and use. Enthusiasts have seen in this process
a way to manufacture objects independently of the classical circuits. Thus several communities have
been created to develop new FDM machines with a leitmotif: simple and cheap. Internet has allowed
these enthusiasts to share their plans and software. It is possible to make your own machine with
components purchased from around the world, then after a few hours of assembly to manufacture your
parts.
The first machines were of poor quality, but thanks to the networking of the results of the first
experiments they improved to become comparable to professional machines. Their endurance and
productivity remain lower than the latter, but they continue to evolve.

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It should be noted that the largest manufacturers have bought out some of the startups that
developed the first alternative machines. They have completed their range of products with simple and
affordable machines to reach new markets, including private individuals.

e -1. REPRAP
The principle of rapid prototyping by molten wire deposition is applied to very economical machines.
Several teams, academics, or students have used this principle to develop machines capable of
producing elements of new machines. The REPRAP community (rerap.org) has developed a machine
with very simplified mechanics and servo control. The design desired by this group should allow to
produce more than 50% of the parts of a reprap machine with another reprap machine. This is the
principle of infinite duplication applied to a production tool. Beyond the philosophical aspect of the
project, we must see an oversimplification of a very complex technology which, yesterday, cost at least
50,000 euros and today only costs around 500 euros.
Mendel machine from Rerap

Part of the Reprap community is working on devices to produce yarn spools from recycled materials.
The user can, in theory, produce his own raw material to feed his production machine.

e -2. 3D Extru
This solution has similarities with the Mendel machine: use of stepper motors and screws for the
movements, a very simplified mechanical architecture and user self-construction. The price for a
machine to be assembled is around 1000 euros. The cost of consumables is quite high (70 euros/kg on
average).

Machine extru 3D example of a realization

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The company BFB (Bits from Bytes) was acquired in 2013 by 3D Sytems, the world leader in rapid
prototyping solutions. The main interest of the buyout lies in the downward opening on the emerging
markets of the private individual and the economic machine. Another important point is the addition of
FDM technology to 3D Systems' portfolio.
Since then, the range of machines has been expanded with more streamlined and more efficient
machines. We can notice a certain rise in range with machines at more than 4000 euros with 3 heads
printing devices:

Personal printing machine Machine Cube Pro 3

PLA/ABS heads
Entry-level machine (2000 (ABS/PLA)
euros) - ABS - PLA

e-3 Makerbot
This company was founded by three New Yorkers in 2011. They have developed a very efficient
technology that has allowed this machine to stand out for its manufacturing quality. Initially, its
structure was made of laser-cut wood x-panels. The machines were sold assembled with a very simple to
use slicing software. The marketing by internet simplified the marketing, the success was immediate. At
the same time, the company developed a website for creating and sharing digital mock-ups in order to
facilitate access to this data for the general public. It was a question of selling the machine to
manufacture but also the material and the work material in the form of digital files. This shows that one
of the greatest difficulties is not to realize but to model one's ideas in the form of geometries!
In 2013, the company was acquired by Stratasys who saw this acquisition as an opportunity to reach
a new market while integrating a potential competitor of its entry-level machines. Anecdot Makertbot
was bought out for 410 million dollars!

First generation Replicator machine

5th generation machine

- f-
Advantages and disadvantages of FDM -
technology
Macro-geometric defects are mainly due to the deformation of the part during or just after

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manufacturing. The problem comes from the material which undergoes thermal shocks during the
manufacturing process.

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manufacturing because it must be liquid during dispensing and then solidify as quickly as possible to fix
the geometry. Another related phenomenon, the material is pushed into the nozzle, the material flow
organizes the macromolecular network in such a way that internal stresses appear. These can
sometimes cause deformations of the thin walls.
Example of deformed parts :

Deformed area - the part is unusable

One solution is to heat the production tray or chamber to reduce the thermal gradient between the
two manufacturing phases. Low-cost machines do not have this type of equipment and their production
often has this type of defect.
Micro-geometric defects are due to inaccuracies in the machine, especially for entry-level machines.

Transformation
Guiding of movement

Trans.
power

Material
raw

Hea
d

Roo
Engine m

Door table
room

Simplified architecture of a 3D printer

Defects are due to the following factors :
- Motorization of the axes with stepper motors
- Qualities of the power transmission organs (belts, couplings, etc...)
- Accuracy of motion transformation devices (screw/nut, ball screw)
- Stiffness of the slide connections
- Rigidity of the frame

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The best machines are capable of maintaining an accuracy of around 0.15 mm. For machines
intended for amateurs the precision is rarely less than 0.3 mm.

The speed at which the head moves is an

important parameter in order to produce the parts
as quickly as possible. For this purpose, the solid
areas of the parts are not necessarily filled with
polymer. The software offers filling strategies with
a higher or lower density.

It is also necessary to take into account the post-processing time that allows the
supports to be removed from the part. Some manufacturers have developed
fusible materials but the parts must be immersed for a few hours in a liquid.
Parts made of FDM have a high porosity which is filled during the dipping
process. Afterwards they must be dried, otherwise they ooze a mixture of soda
and often sticky support material.

The parts have a significant roughness due to the superposition of layers for Z and the juxtaposition
of the wire passages for X and Y. In order to present models it is imperative to paint and therefore
prepare the surfaces of the parts. Those made of ABS have a high peripheral hardness which makes the
sanding step long and painful. On the other hand, the mechanical qualities of the parts are interesting
and are close to injection moulded parts made of technical plastics.

Model of a turboprop engine with control-rotating propellers.

- The parts can undergo a "banana" deformation during and after the
realization
- Some fine geometries are delicate to produce
- The material cost is low and the machines are of simple design
To
finishes are delicate to achieve for ABS parts.
remember! - The
- Chemical after-treatments allow the removal of the substrates.

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