On the development of a robot-operated 3D-printer

摘要

A prototype Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM) head is reported on, attached to an industrial robot, in this case 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. Selection of the off-the-shelf electronic components and their inter-connection are also covered together with the implementation for synchronizing the robot and the head's extruder. Programming of the 3D printer paths, for the time being, pertains to teaching the pertinent points to the robot via the pendant, to form a layer and repeating through programming structures to form the complete object. A number of printed shell artefacts are presented with accuracy assessment, which was deemed totally acceptable.