Technical Seminar Report

On
“Additive Manufacturing Using
FDM Robot”
This technical seminar report is submitted in partial fulfillment of the
requirements of Fifth semester B.E. in Mechanical Engineering.

Submitted By
Harsh Purushottam Sharma
Roll No : 30

Under the guidance of

Dr. Y.M Sonkhaskar

Department of Mechanical Engineering

SHRI RAMDEOBABA COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING &
MANAGEMENT, KATOL ROAD, NAGPUR, INDIA-440013
2020-2021

Department of Mechanical Engineering, R.C.O.E.M. I

 SHRI RAMDEOBABA COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING &
MANAGEMENT, NAGPUR
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Session: 2020-21

CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that Harsh Purushottam Sharma has completed

the technical seminar work on Additive Manufacturing Using FDM
Robot in partial fulfillment of the requirements of fifth semester B.E. in
Department of Mechanical Engineering at RCOEM, Nagpur.

Dr. Y.M Sonkhaskar Dr. M. M. Gupta

Project-I Guide H.O.D.
Mechanical Engg. Deptt. Mechanical Engg. Deptt.

Department of Mechanical Engineering, R.C.O.E.M. II

 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

It is my pleasure to be indebted to various people who directly or

indirectly contributed in the development of this work and who influenced my
thinking, behavior and acts during the course of study.

I express my sincere gratitude to Dr. Y.M Sonkhaskar Sir, Lecturer at

Mechanical Engineering Department who provided his valuable suggestions
and precious time in accomplishing my technical seminar report.

I am thankful to Dr. M.M Gupta Sir, Head of Department at

Mechanical Engineering Department without whose guidance and support
pertaining to the research techniques, this report would have not been
completed successfully.

I am also grateful to the faculty members of the department for their

constant support and motivation and I extend my heartfelt gratitude to the
panelists who gave constructive criticism on my seminar presentation which
helped me to improve my report multifolds.

Thanking you,

Harsh Purushottam Sharma

Department of Mechanical Engineering, R.C.O.E.M. III

 CONTENTS

CHAPTER NO. TITLE PAGE NO.

Abstract V
List of Tables VI
List of Figures VII
List of Symbols, Abbreviation and VIII
Nomenclature
11. Introduction 1
22. Literature Review 2
33. Additive Manufacturing Processes 4

4 Additive Manufacturing Materials 9

5 Slicing And Designing Softwares 13

6 3d Printing Robot Case Study 17

7 Conclusion 24
8 References 25

Department of Mechanical Engineering, R.C.O.E.M. IV

 ABSTRACT

Additive Manufacturing is one of the key components of the

Industry 4.0 and AM based robots are going to be a crucial and

common part of the manufacturing field in the imminent

future.This report aims to introduce the idea and work that goes

into making an additive manfacturing robot to implement

additive/hybrid manufacturing.

The introduction of various additive manufacturing

processes is discussed and Fused Deposition Modelling, which is

the most commonly used AM process is emphasized. This report

also introduces various slicing and design softwares available that

help in turning the ideas into reality via AM.

This is a comprehensive and exhaustive work on how the

FDM based robots can be developed and what are their

performance characteristics. A prototype FDM head is reported on,

attached to an industrial robot, in this case a 6 axis arm with high

repeatability, to form a robotic 3D Printer. The detailed design is

presented including theoretical calculations regarding pressure

drop in the nozzle.

Department of Mechanical Engineering, R.C.O.E.M. V

 LIST OF TABLES

Table Title Page No.

No.
1 Properties of various 3D Printing 11
materials
2 Slicing Softwares with level of difficulty 14
3 Programming for Robot Path 21
4 Printed parts and their dimensions 22

Department of Mechanical Engineering, R.C.O.E.M. VI

 LIST OF FIGURES

Figure No. Title Page

No.
1 Property matrix of FDM Filaments 12
2 FDM machine components 17
3 The 3D printing mechanism (a) as 18
designed (b) manufactured and
partly assembled second tier (c)
control tier
4 (a) Example of overlap between 19
successive layers on a slightly
inclined printing surface (b)
Sections of the liquefier
5 The robotic 3D printer (a) general 21
view (b) focus on printing area
6 Example parts printed (a) 22
Parallelepiped (b) Open box (c)
Meander (d) Heart

Department of Mechanical Engineering, R.C.O.E.M. VII

 LIST OF SYMBOLS, ABBREVIATION AND
NOMENCLATURE

1. AM – Additive manufacturing
2. FDM – Fused deposition modeling
3. RP – Rapid prototyping

Department of Mechanical Engineering, R.C.O.E.M. VIII

 CHAPTER NO. 1

INTRODUCTION

3D printing or additive manufacturing is a process of making a three-

dimensional solid object of virtually any shape from a digital model.
Successive layers of material are laid down in different shapes. Traditional
machining techniques rely on the removal of material by methods such as
cutting or drilling whereas 3D printing layers are added successively. Thus it
uses a layering technique where an object is constructed layer by layer until
the complete object is manufactured. In this way 3D printing moves us away
from the mass production line to a one-off customizable Production. The
initial 3D printers were used in the 1980s where a pattern submerged in a
liquid polymer would be traced by a computer. The traced pattern hardened
into a layer, thanks to the laser, and that was how you built an object out of
plastic. Since then tremendous progress has been made in additive
manufacturing such that material extrusion is now used. By this method, an
object is built out of matter that is pushed from a mechanical head like the way
an inkjet printers extrudes ink onto paper. Interestingly, the cost of acquiring
3D printers has been decreasing with the advancement of technology.
Domestic usage of 3D printers has been on the rise with the average cost
ranging from a few hundreds of dollars going up. However, one major
drawback is that it requires expertise to print 3D objects. In fact, it requires a
competent person to make both the digital file and the final printing.
Commercial usage of 3D printers has been on the increase too in sectors such
as the automotive industry and aerospace engineering. Spare parts, for
example, are being made in the automotive and aero-space industry leading to
improved economies of scale. 3D printing is changing how the production line
in industries works which made some analysts to dub the emergence of 3D
printers as the second Industrial revolution.

Department of Mechanical Engineering, R.C.O.E.M. 1

 CHAPTER NO. 2

LITERATURE REVIEW

Trayana Tankova, Luís Simões da Silva [1]

Robot-assisted construction brings several advantages to the construction
process increased quality, reduced risk, faster work cycle. Nowadays, additive
manufacturing rapidly becomes the desired process in many manufacturing areas,
mainly due to its advantages in free form automatic execution of parts or structures.
This paper summarises recent development in robotics and additive manufacturing for
construction industry.

J. Norberto Pires, Amin S. Azar [2]

This paper aims to introduce the ideas of practical implications of using
industrial robots to implement additive/hybrid manufacturing.The process is discussed
and briefly demonstrated. This paper also introduces recent developments on human–
machine interface for robotic manufacturing cells.

Thabiso Peter Mpofu, Cephas Mawere, Macdonald Mukosera [3]

3D printing has been found to be useful in sectors such as manufacturing,
industrial design, jewellery, footwear, architecture, engineering and construction,
automotive, aerospace, dental and medical industries, education, geographic
information systems, civil engineering, and many others. The applications of 3D
printing are ever increasing and it’s proving to be a very exciting technology to look
out for. In this paper they explore how it works and the current and future applications
of 3D printing.

Robert Dolan, Roger Budde, Christian Schramm [4]

IAV has designed, analyzed, optimized and produced 3D printed pistons for
heavy-duty diesel engines. The key features include an innovative form of combustion
bowl, 300 bar peak cylinder pressure capability and advanced cooling channels in a
mass neutral to less capable design.

Department of Mechanical Engineering, R.C.O.E.M. 2

T. Venkata Ramana, Sangem Kumar, Vanga Balakrishna [5]
Crankshaft is designed for multi cylinder engine and its 3D-model is created
using modeling software CATIA V5R20.The 3D printer prints the CATIA design
layer by layer forming a real object. 3D printing process is derived from inkjet
desktop printers. This type of printing is predicted to influence industries, like
automotive, medical, education, equipment, consumer products industries and various
businesses.

Taiki Maruyama, Hotaka Hirata,Taichi Furukawa, Shoji Maruo [6]

A multi-material microstereolithography system in which multiple
photocurable resins are stored on a single glass palette was developed to produce
multicolor three-dimensional (3D) models. Multiple photocurable resins with
different colors are replaced by moving a linear translational X-stage that supports the
glass palette. A Z-stage moves radially to remove the air bubbles that adhere around
the 3D model when replacing the resins. The uncurable resin was washed out by
sequentially immersing the 3D structure in two tanks containing a cleaning solvent.
This makes it possible to produce multicolor 3D models without contaminating the
resins and air bubbles.

Based on the above research papers and reading a few research papers more,
the topic on which the technical seminar was finalised turned out to be Additive
Manufacturing Robots, as it is the future of large scale manufacturing and a budding
field that contains a lot of scope for study, research and development. The technical
seminar report is majorly decided to be on FDM robots after this literature review. An
attempt is made to cover all the pecularities of the FDM process, along with other AM
processes to make this report more exhaustive, comprehensive and complete.

Department of Mechanical Engineering, R.C.O.E.M. 3

 CHAPTER NO. 3

ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING PROCESSES

Selecting the most suitable AM process for a particular application can be

difficult. The very large range of available 3D Printing technologies and materials
often means that several of them may be viable, but each offers variations in
dimensional accuracy, surface finish and post-processing requirements.

3.1 Vat Photopolymerization

Photopolymerization occurs when a photopolymer resin is exposed to the light
of a specific wavelength and undergoes a chemical reaction to become solid. A
number of additive technologies utilize this phenomenon to build up a solid part one
layer at a time.

3.1.1 Stereolithography (SLA)

SLA uses a build platform submerged into a translucenttank filled with liquid
photopolymer resin. Once the build platform is submerged, a single point laser located
inside the machine maps a cross-sectional area (layer) of design through the bottom of
the tank solidifying the material. After the layer has been mapped and solidified by
the laser, the platform lifts up and lets a new layer of resin flow beneath the part. This
process is repeated layer by layer to produce a solid part. Parts are typically then post-
cured by UV light to improve their mechanical properties

3.1.2 Direct Light Processing (DLP)

DLP follows a near-identical method of producing parts when compared to
SLA. The main difference is that DLP uses a digital light projector screen to flash a
single image of each layer all at once. Because the projector is a digital screen, the
image of each layer is composed of square pixels, resulting in a layer formed from
small rectangular bricks called voxels. DLP can achieve faster print times compared
to SLA for some parts, as each entire layer is exposed all at once, rather than tracing
the crosssectional area with a laser Stereolithography (SLA) SLA uses a build
platform submerged into a translucenttank filled with liquid photopolymer resin. Once

Department of Mechanical Engineering, R.C.O.E.M. 4

the build platform is submerged, a single point laser located inside the machine maps
a cross-sectional area (layer) of design through the bottom of the tank solidifying the
material. After the layer has been mapped and solidified by the laser, the platform lifts
up and lets a new layer of resin flow beneath the part. This process is repeated layer
by layer to produce a solid part. Parts are typically then post-cured by UV light to
improve their mechanical properties.

3.1.3 Continuous DLP (CDLP)

Continuous Direct Light Processing (CDLP) (also known as Continuous
Liquid Interface Production or CLIP) produces parts in exactly the same way as DLP.
However, it relies on the continuous motion of the build plate in the Z direction
(upwards). This allows for faster build times as the printer is not required to stop and
separate the part from the build plate after each layer is produced.

3.2 Powder Bed Fusion

Powder Bed Fusion (PBF) technologies produce a solid part using a thermal
source that induces fusion (sintering or melting) between the particles of a plastic or
metal powder one layer at a time. Most PBF technologies employ mechanisms for
spreading and smoothing thin layers of powder as a part is constructed, resulting in
the final component being encapsulated in powder after the built is complete. The
main variations in PBF technologies come from the different energy sources (for eg.
lasers or electron beams) and the powders used in the process (plastics or metals).

3.2.1 Selective Laser Sintering (SLS)

SLS produces solid plastic parts using a laser to sinter thin layers of powdered
material one layer at a time. The process begins by spreading an initial layer of
powder over the build platform. The crosssection of the part is scanned and sintered
by the laser, solidifying it. The build platform then drops down one layer thickness
and a new layer of powder is applied. The process repeats until a solid part a. The
result of this process is a component completely encased in unsintered powder. The
part is removed from the powder, cleaned and then it is ready for use or further post-
processing.

Department of Mechanical Engineering, R.C.O.E.M. 5

3.2.2 SLM & DMLS
Both SLM and Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS) produce parts via a
similar method to SLS. The main difference is that SLM and DMLS are used in the
production of metal parts. SLM achieves a full melt of the powder, while DMLS heats
the powder to near melting temperatures until they chemically fuse together. DMLS
only works with alloys (nickel alloys, Ti64 etc.) while SLM can use single component
metals, such as aluminium. Unlike SLS, SLM and DMLS require support structures to
compensate for the high residual stresses generated during the build process. DMLS is
the most wellestablished metal AM process with the largest installed base.

3.2.3 Multi Jet Fusion (MJF)

MJF is essentially a combination of the SLS and Material Jetting technologies.
A carriage with inkjet nozzles (similar to the nozzles used in desktop 2D printers)
passes over the print area, depositing fusing agent on a thin layer of plastic powder.
At the same time, a detailing agent that inhibits sintering is printed near the edge of
the part. A high-power IR energy source then passes over the build bed and sinters the
areas where the fusing agent was dispensed, while leaving the rest of the powder
untouched. The process repeats until all parts are complete.

3.3 Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM)

FDM (sometimes also referred to as Fused Filament Fabrication or FFF) is the
most widely used 3D printing technology. FDM builds parts using strings of solid
thermoplastic material, which comes a filament form. The filament is pushed through
a heated nozzle where it is melted. The printer continuously moves the nozzle around,
laying down melted material at precise locations following a pre-determined path.
When the material cools it solidifies, building the part layer-by-layer.

3.4 Material Jetting

Material jetting is often compared to the 2D ink-jetting process.
Photopolymers, metals or wax that cure or harden when exposed to UV light or
elevated temperatures can be used to build parts one layer at a time. The nature of the

Department of Mechanical Engineering, R.C.O.E.M. 6

material jetting process allows for multi-material printing. This ability is often used to
print support from different (soluble) material during the build phase.

3.4.1 NanoParticle Jetting

Nanoparticle jetting (NPJ) uses a liquid, which contains metal nanoparticles or
support nanoparticles, loaded into the printer as a cartridge and jetted onto the build
tray in extremely thin layers of droplets. High temperatures inside the building
envelope cause the liquid to evaporate leaving behind metal parts.

3.4.2 Drop-On-Demand (DOD)

DOD material jetting printers have 2 print jets: one to deposit the build
materials (typically a wax-like liquid) and another for dissolvable support material.
Similar to traditional AM techniques, DOD printers follow a pre-determined path and
deposit material in a pointwise fashion to build the cross-sectional area of a
component. These machines also employ a flycutter that skims the build area after
each layer to ensure a perfectly flat surface before printing the next layer. DOD
technology is typically used to produce “wax-like” patterns for lost-wax
casting/investment casting and mould making applications.

3.4.3 Binder Jetting

Binder Jetting deposits a binding adhesive agent onto thin layers of powder
material. The powder materials are either ceramic-based (for example glass or
gypsum) or metal (for example stainless steel). The print head moves over the build
platform depositing binder droplets, printing each layer in a similar way 2D printers
print ink on paper. When a layer is complete, the powder bed moves downwards and a
new layer of powder is spread onto the build area. The process repeats until all parts
are complete. After printing, the parts are in a green state and require additional post-
processing before they are ready to use. Often an infiltrant is added to improve the
mechanical properties of the parts. The infiltrant is usually a cyanoacrylate adhesive
(in case of ceramics) or bronze (in the case of metals).

Department of Mechanical Engineering, R.C.O.E.M. 7

3.5 Direct Energy Deposition Direct Energy Deposition
(DED) creates parts by melting powder material as it is deposited. It is
predominantly used with metal powders or wire and is often referred to as metal
deposition.

3.5.1 Laser Engineered Net Shape (LENS)

LENS utilizes a deposition head, which consists of a laser head, powder
dispensing nozzles, and inert gas tubing, to melt powder as it is ejected from the
powder dispensing nozzles to build a solid part layer-by-layer. The laser creates a
melt pool on the build area and powder is sprayed into the pool, where it is melted and
then solidified. The substrate is typically a flat metal plate.

3.5.2 Electron Beam Additive Manufacture (EBAM)

EBAM is used to create metal parts using metal powder or wire, welded
together using an electron beam as the heat source. Producing parts in a similar
fashion to LENS, electron beams are more efficient than lasers and operate under a
vacuum with the technology originally being designed for use in space.

Department of Mechanical Engineering, R.C.O.E.M. 8

 CHAPTER NO. 4

ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING MATERIALS

4.1 ABS 3D Filament

ABS is popular for good reasons. It’s tough, and has impact-resistant
properties. It’s this strength and moderate flexibility that makes it such a great choice
for printing in 3D. It’s also easy to extrude from the printer’s nozzles, which makes it
an easy material to work with.
ABS print temperature range: 210°C – 250°C (high)

4.2 PLA 3D Filament

PLA (Poly Lactic Acid) is popular for amateurs and professionals alike. It’s a
special type of thermoplastic made from organic materials, namely cornstarch and
sugarcane. The main benefits of PLA are that it’s safer and easier to use, and with no
toxic fumes to worry about. Some users even find the sweet smell of the sugar-based
filament pleasant. Compared to ABS, PLA produces 3D parts which are more
aesthetically pleasing. This finish is thanks to its unique sheen and smooth
appearance.
PLA print temperature range: 180°C – 230°C (low)

4.3 PET Filament

Today, PolyEthylene Terephthalate (PET) is a popular 3D material. Another
common use for PET is in everyday plastic bottles. This plastic is both stable and
harmless, emits no unpleasant or harmful odors, and is 100% recyclable. In its raw
state, the filament has no color and is crystal clear. Once exposed to cold or heat the
material quickly changes to a non-transparent state. A more advanced version if PET
is a filament called PETG, also marketed as Amphora AM1800.
PETG print temperature range: 210°C – 230°C.

Department of Mechanical Engineering, R.C.O.E.M. 9

4.4 PETT Filament
PETT, whose long name is PolyEthylene Trimethylene Terephthalate, is
what’s known as a T-Glase filament. Like PET (one ‘T’), it’s also a popular 3D
printer material that’s food-friendly. The filament is non-biodegradable, though it is a
recyclable material.
PETT Print Temperature Range: 210°C – 230°C

4.5 Nylon Filament

Nylon filament, also called polyamide, is another popular choice. This is a
synthetic polymer that’s stronger and more durable than ABS and PLA—and cost-
effective. It’s also flexible, light, wear-resistant, and less brittle than both ABS and
PLA. There are different kinds of nylon filament available, and what you choose will
depend on which one suits your budget and needs.
Nylon print temperature range: 210°C – 250°C (high)

4.6 PVA Filament

PVA (Polyvinyl alcohol) is a good 3D filament that’s typical use is as a
support material when printing with ABS or PLA. As a support material, PVA works
best with printers that have duel extruders. This is a biodegradable, non-toxic material
that easily dissolves in tap water. All popular desktop FDM printers can use PVA
with a heated build platform as this prevents warping during the build process. For
best results as a support material, the print bed temperature should not exceed 200 °C.
PVA print temperature range: 190°C – 220°C (low)

4.7 Wood Filament

It seems strange, but yes, 3D wood filaments are very real. It’s a great material
for anyone who wants or needs to be more creative with their 3D printed projects.
These filaments contain a careful mixture of recycled woods with a special binding
polymer. The output model not only looks like real wood, it smells like it too. There’s
no shortage of impressive examples online that illustrate the amazing finish wood
filaments can produce when printed to perfection.
Wood print temperature range: 200°C – 260°C

Department of Mechanical Engineering, R.C.O.E.M. 10

4.8 Metal Filament PLA / ABS
Metal filaments are in a league of their own—offering some very impressive,
unique finishes to 3D printed parts. The materials consist of PLA combined with a
higher percentage of fine metallic powders. The 3D printed parts look and feel just as
they would if they had been made of 100% metals.
Metal print temperature range: 195°C – 220°C (will vary depending on filament)

Table 1. Properties of various 3D Printing materials

4.9 HIPS Filament

High Impact Polystyrene, HIPS for short, is a bright, white colored 3D
biodegradable material. It’s safe to use, meaning it has no harmful effects for users
who are in close contact with the filament. It’s safe with pets too. Like PVA, HIPS
also works as great secondary (support) material. On its own, it’s tricky to use for
creating 3D printed parts, especially with printers that don’t have a heated bed. As a
support structure, a colorless solution called liquid hydrocarbon quickly dissolves the
filament.
HIPS print temperature range: 230°C – 250°C

Department of Mechanical Engineering, R.C.O.E.M. 11

 Fig 1. Property matrix of FDM Filaments

4.10 Magnetic Iron PLA Filament

As the name suggests, magnetic iron PLA filament has magnetic properties.
This unique filament is PLA material infused with a powdered iron. It’s these iron
particles that give the 3D parts their grainy gunmetal type finish.
Magnetic iron PLA print temperature range: 195°C – 220°C

4.11 Carbon Fiber 3D Printer Filament

Carbon Fiber PLA is an impressive 3D filament. The material contains tiny
strands of carbon fiber which results in a material that has an excellent structure. It’s
also rigid and has superior layer adhesion.
Carbon fiber print temperature range: 190°C – 230°C

4.12 Flexible, TPE Filament

TPE 3D printer filament is easily the most flexible of all the printer materials. It is
‘super stretchy’ because of the thermoplastic elastomers, or TPE for short. It has such
high elasticity properties that it feels like real rubber, easily springing back into shape
like an elastic band.
TPE print temperature range: 225°C – 235°C

Department of Mechanical Engineering, R.C.O.E.M. 12

 CHAPTER NO. 5

SLICING AND DESIGNING SOFTWARES

5.1 Slicing Softwares

5.1.1. Cura
It was developed by the 3D printer giant Ultimaker and used by the company’s
community of users. This slicer software is open-source and free. It is compatible
with most desktop 3D printers and can work with most files in the most common 3D
formats such as .STL, .OBJ, .X3D, .3MF (as well as image file formats such as BMP,
GIF, JPG and PNG). It is suitable for beginners as well as for professionals. Some
features include: showing a toolpath, estimating printing time and material usage.
Experienced users can use third-party plugins.

5.1.2. 3DPrinterOS
3DPrinterOS is a cloud-based platform that integrates a slicing app but also
other features essential for 3D printing such as a repair app. The platform is therefore
an easy way of managing files machines and users across a business. There are three
slicing apps within 3DPrinterOS: the ‘Cloud Slicer’, the ‘Slicer 2’ and a dedicated
‘Makerbot Slicer’. The range of printers supported by this platform is very large.

5.1.3. IdeaMaker
IdeaMaker slicing software was developed by the 3D printer manufacturer
Raise3D. It was developed specifically for Raise3D 3D printers and is
completely free. The slicer focuses on offering a user-friendly service: in as little as 4
clicks you can prepare your .STL, .OBJ and .3MF files to be printed. On the other
hand, if you want some more advanced features, the software provides limitless
customisation. IdeaMaker is now compatible with most FDM printers on the market
and can also be used as a 3D printer management platform. For example, you can
keep track of multiple printing profiles and seamlessly switch between different print
settings, and also manage the ongoing print job remotely.

Department of Mechanical Engineering, R.C.O.E.M. 13

5.1.4 Repetier-Host
Repetier-Host is a slicer and control software is very popular within the
RepRap community, it is also open-source and free. Repetier-Host is an all-in-one
solution, for example offering multi-extruder support of up to 16 extruders – it can
handle different filaments and colours simultaneously so that you can visualize the
result before printing.

5.1.5 Slic3r
Slic3r is a free open-source slicer software. It works with 3D CAD files
(.STL or .OBJ) to generate G-code for the 3D printer. It was born in 2011 within the
RepRap community as an effort to provide the growing 3D printing technology with
an open and flexible toolchain.

5.1.6 Simplify3D
This slicer software has been developed for pro users. It supports nearly all
3D printers – Simplify3D has partnered with 3D printing companies in over 30
countries in order to support more than 100 3D printer profiles.

Table 2. Slicing Softwares with level of difficulty

Department of Mechanical Engineering, R.C.O.E.M. 14

5.2 Designing Softwares
5.2.1. Autodesk Fusion 360.
Autodesk Fusion 360 is one of the most powerful 3D printing software tools
on the market. It is one of the preferred choices of products for mechanical engineers,
designers, and machinists.The best part is that it seamlessly combines the power of
design, engineering, and manufacturing into one platform. Moreover, it streamlines
the product development process to ensure smoother and faster delivery of high-
quality products.

5.2.2 Autodesk AutoCAD.

Created by Autodesk, AutoCAD is another amazing 3D printing tool on this
list, most suitable for professional use. Overall, it is a very versatile 3D printing
software that offers a lot of capabilities to create 3D models. It allows the user to
attach and import data from PDFs, add annotations to drawings, and extract object
data to tables. All these features also help in better presentation of the data, along with
real-time analytics.

5.2.3 Ultimaker Cura.

Ultimaker Cura is an open-source software tool that offers seamless
integration with the 3D printer. It provides relevant recommendations to new users
with its recommended mode, making it an excellent proposition for new users. Other
than this, its customization mode also offers highly customizable features to meet
different requirements and for in-depth control.

5.2.4 TinkerCAD.
TinkerCAD is a web-based 3D modeling and designing tool. The software
comes with a straightforward and easy to use interface that simplifies the process of
3D printing. At the same time, it provides you with the capability to design complex
models by leveraging shape grouping and shapes.

Department of Mechanical Engineering, R.C.O.E.M. 15

5.2.5 MeshLab.
MeshLab, again, is an open-source 3D designing tool that is most suitable for
editing and processing 3D meshes. Users can leverage all its functions to edit, render,
provide texture, and convert into meshes easily. Moreover, you can easily slice and
prepare the design ready for 3D printing.

5.2.6 Creo.
Developed by Parametric Technology Corporation, Creo is one of the market
leaders in product design.
The biggest reason for its popularity is the amazing functionalities the tool offers,
including motion, structural, and thermal, among others. Moreover, it provides
excellent capabilities to design, simulate, and print 3D models efficiently through
modeling, surfacing, finite element analysis, and tooling abilities, among others.

5.2.7 Solidworks.
Solidworks is developed by Dassault Systemes and is one of the preferred
choices of 3D designers. It offers a wide range of tools and features to efficiently
design 3D models for industrial purposes.Furthermore, Solidworks comes enabled
with a lot of detailed and unique features that empower professionals to create
innovative 3D designs.

5.2.8 CATIA.
CATIA was first developed to meet the internal requirements of Dassault
Aviation. However, it has gradually garnered massive popularity for being a multi-
platform suite. The software also comes equipped with the 3D

5.2.10 OnShape.
The cloud-based 3D software is one of the most capable options for 3D
modeling and printing. The robustly built software is easy to use in comparison to
other software available in the market. The good news is that it is entirely built on the
cloud, which helps you save plenty of storage.

Department of Mechanical Engineering, R.C.O.E.M. 16

 CHAPTER NO. 6

3D Printing Robot Case Study

5.1 Principle of Fused Deposition Modeling

Fig. 2 FDM machine components

Fused deposition modeling(FDM) is a method of additive manufacturing. In

the process, layers of materials are fused together in a pattern to create objects. The
material(filament) is melted in the printer’s nozzle just past its glass transition
temperature, and then extruded in a pattern next to or on top of previous extrusions,
creating objects layer by layer.
For FDM 3d printer, there are single extrude or multiple extrudes. But the
principle and working process is the same.

5.2 Mechanical Design of the Robot

The robot used was a Stäubli RX90L [7]. It is a six axis industrial robot with
payload of 4 kg at maximum speed and 6 kg at reduced speed, maximum operation
speed of 12.6 m/sec, maximum reach of 1100 mm and repeatability at ± 0.025 mm.
The 3D printing system mounted as an end effector on the robot should weigh less
than 3.5 kg. Most of the parts of the 3D printer were designed parametrically in

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SolidWorks software and manufactured from Al alloy 2000 series on HAAS TM-1
and TL-1 CNC milling and turning machines, respectively, according to G-code
generated on SolidCAM software.

Fig. 3 The 3D printing mechanism (a) as designed (b) manufactured and partly
assembled second tier (c) control tier

5.2.1 Extrusion System

A three-tier frame was designed for accommodating electronics, extrusion
system mechanism and 3D printing.
The bottom tier is flanged for attachment to the robot. The printer is designed
so as to enable use of two materials, normally the building material, e.g. PLA/ABS,
and the support material. The extrusion mechanism is located on the second tier. Its
purpose is to push the filament to overcome the pressure drop in the nozzle. It mainly
consists of a driving roll supported by bearings, which is driven by a ΝΕΜΑ 17
stepper motor. There are also two pressure rolls that push the two filaments against
the driving roll. These consist of a grooved wheel and knurled counter-surface to
eliminate slippage. The user can choose which pressure roll will be activated by
tightening the respective screws. The maximum torque of the motor is 1.765 Nm
hence the maximum extrusion force is 353 N. The two 3D printer heads are located on

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 the third tier.. The printer head consists of the liquefier, the nozzle and temperature
controlling devices, typically fins. An off-the-shelf E4D J-Head ExtruderTM with
nozzle diameter 0.4 mm, appropriate for 1.75 mm filament of various materials (ABS,
PLA, wood, PVC, etc.) was selected. The filament reel holder is located on the third
link of the robotic arm, to provide a filament path as straight as possible and to
eliminate the possibilities of filament messing in case of complicated motion. The
theoretical height of the printed parts can be calculated as:
Height (mm)=First layer height+(Number of Layers-1)*(Bead diameter-Overlap),
where, ‘overlap’ is the intentional decrease in original distance between successive
layers to reduce inter-bead voids. For example, if the diameter of each bead were 0.4
mm and the overlap 0.1 mm, then the displacement from the previous layer to the next
would be 0.3 mm.

Fig. 4 (a) Example of overlap between successive layers on a slightly inclined

printing surface (b) Sections of the liquefier

5.2.2 Pressure drop estimation

The pressure drop in the nozzle and hence the required force for extrusion is
essential to know in regulating the flow rate.

Key assumptions:
 Incompressibility of the melt
 A no-slip boundary condition at the wall of the liquefier
 A fully developed, steady state and laminar flow
Pressure drop calculation according to equations has been implemented in
Matlab for different operation temperatures and nozzle diameters.

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 The required force for overcoming the loss can be calculated by summing up
the multiplication of the pressure drop of each section of the liquefier by the
corresponding surface area.
For the nozzle employed (0.4 mm diameter) the force required is 10.8 N at
180 deg C dropping to 7.9 N at 190 deg C and 7.5 N at 200 deg C. Indicatively, for a
nozzle of 0.3 mm diameter, the force required is 26.3 N at 180 deg C dropping to 19.3
N at 190 deg C and 20.1 N at 200 deg C.

5.3 Control
A personal computer (PC) was adopted as the supervisory controller,
interfacing both with the robot controller and with the controller of the extruder board.
ArduinoTM Mega2560 microcontroller with RAMPS 1.4 was used for
controlling the extruder.
The board was flashed with the Marlin Firmware that manages all the real-
time activities of the machine.
. The robot controller, Stäubli CS7, has 12 inputs and 6 outputs for
communication, three out of six inputs being high speed.

5.4 Programming
The extruder system has four parameters:
1. The cooling fan speed. 3. The amount of extrusion
2. The extruder temperature 4. The extruder feed rate

Note: The calculation of the flow rate and the amount of the extrusion were coded in
Matlab.
The robot path was programmed in V+ providing all the functionality of
modern high-level languages, including: callable subroutines, control structures,
multi-tasking environment and recursive, re-entrant program execution.

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 Table 3. Programming for Robot Path

5.5 Examples
Using the integrated system, several shell-shaped objects were printed
successfully. The printing surface was made of marble. For some of the parts the
printing surface was deliberately inclined at 3 % and 1 % length and width-wise. It is
pointed out that the thickness of the first layer of each printed part was assumed to be
0.5 mm, corresponding to the distance of the extrusion head over the printing surface
at the beginning of the printing process. Note that in the case of the meander part, the
printing surface had to be heated to 60 0C to achieve a non-deformed shape. Uneven
height of the individual ranks resulted when heating was omitted, presumably due to
the large thermal gradients involved

a) b)

))

Fig. 5 The robotic 3D printer (a) general view (b) focus on printing area

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 Fig. 6 Example parts printed (a) Parallelepiped (b) Open box (c) Meander (d) Heart

The average percentage error in length, width and height for the four parts
presented are 0.76 %, 2.04 % and - 3.9% respectively. The main reason for the
existence of errors in height is the assumption of the height of the first layer being 0.5
mm. As regards other directions, the use of joints 4 and 5 in conjunction with the
weight of the 3D printer (2.5 Kg) can create oscillations affecting all dimensions. The
errors in length (less than 1 %) are the smallest since length-wise motion is not
affected by oscillations contrary to width-wise motion. Moreover, the constancy of
flow rate neglecting acceleration / deceleration of the robot does also affect accuracy
of the part near its boundary.

Table 4. Printed parts and their dimensions

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5.6 Conclusion
If its acceleration were taken into account by the extruder motor the results
would be even better in terms of achievable shape accuracy. The biggest advantage of
such a system is the size of the printed part which could be as large as the workspace
of the robot; in this case, its length and height could be 1100 mm and 506 mm
respectively taking the dimensions of the printing head into account.
Further work needs to be done, in order to exploit the capabilities of this
system to the full, regarding improvement in mechanical properties and reduction in
printing time.
Adjustment of flow rate with respect to direction or speed change is needed,
typically to avoid overflow at the corners of printed objects.

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 CHAPTER 7
CONCLUSION

The 3D Printing Robot Industry is in its infancy currently. There’s going to be

huge opportunities in the AM robot industry. Thus, having prior knowledge of the
same is a pre-requisite. This report has presented a birdseye view of the 3D Printing
process while putting special emphasis on the FDM as it is the most widely used
method. The materials, principle, designing softwares, slicing softwares are discussed
duly along with their use in the FDM based robot. Choosing the right polymer is
critical to get the right properties for a 3D printed part, especially if the part has a
functional use. Its significant for the users to find the right material depending on the
properties they need. However, material suppliers also often provide blends or add
additives to modify the properties of the pure polymer (e.g. adding carbon fibre to
make the material stiffer) as it was covered in the report.
Thus, working with industrial AM robots requires knowledge of 3D Printing
from the designing till the post processing. The techniques of post processing are
beyond the scope of this report in order to keep it concise and precise and hence it
was not covered. Additive manufacturing is a boon for the world and this report was
just an attempt to make the reader aware of the possibilities that it brings with itself in
the form of AM Robots.

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 CHAPTER 8
REFERENCES

Papers:

[1] Trayana Tankova, Luís Simões da Silva, 2020, “Robotics and Additive
Manufacturing in the Construction Industry”, Springer Nature Switzerland AG
[2] J. Norberto Pires, Amin S. Azar, 2018, "Advances in robotics for additive/hybrid
manufacturing: robot control, speech interface and path planning", Industrial Robot:
An International Journal
[3] Thabiso Peter Mpofu, Cephas Mawere, Macdonald Mukosera, “The Impact and
Application of 3D Printing Technology”, International Journal of Science and
Research (IJSR)
[4] Robert Dolan, Roger Budde, Christian Schramm, “3D Printed Piston for Heavy-
Duty Diesel Engines”, Proceedings of the 2018 Ground Vehicle Systems Engineering
and Technology Symposium (GVSETS)
[5] T. Venkata Ramana | Sagam Kunta Subhash | Sangem Devendra Kumar | Vanga
Balakrishna, April 2019, "Modelling and 3D Printing of Crankshaft" Published in
International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (IJTSRD)
[6] Taiki Maruyama, Hotaka Hirata, Taichi Furukawa, and Shoji Maruo, 2020, "Multi-
material microstereolithography using a palette with multicolor photocurable resins,"
Opt. Mater. Express 10, 2522-2532
[7] Andi Dine, George-Christopher Vosniakos, 2018,”On The Development Of A
Robot Operated 3D Printer’’, 28th International Conference on Flexible Automation
and Intelligent Manufacturing (FAIM2018), Columbus, OH, USA

Websites:
1. https://www.stratsys.com/
2. https://www.makerbot.com/
3. https://all3dp.com/
4. https://irjet.org/
5. https://www.sciencedirect.com/

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