3D Printer Prototyping

3D Printer Prototyping

Abstract The present paper describes about providing an education, research & development lab with a 3D printer. This facility has been an inducement to students activities. It has been possible to benefit from production functional prototype. The use of the 3D printer technology in promoting research and development activities at underground level. For the success of 3D printing technology requires performance, quality & reliability are key factors. The paper also presents design & modelling methodologies and toolsets and details how these can be used. This 3D Printer is based on the technology of the fused deposition modeling. It extrudes plastic filament from a nozzle and deposits molten plastic along planned paths layer by layer until a part is completed.

Keywords – 3D printer, FDM, Fusion 360, Firmware-Marlin 2.0, Ultimaker Cura etc.,

1. INTRODUCTION

   The traditional way for industrial fabrication of solid objects consists of removing material from a given solid block until the specified shape is obtained. It is called subtractive. The reverse way is adding material layer by layer to build up the three dimensional object is called additive fabrication. The fabrication of three-dimensional objects exists, which is forming liquid or plastic material into the required shape and then producing solidification of the material.

   The development of advanced computer software for computer-aided-design (CAD) and manufacturing (CAM) have revolutionized the ways of design, prototyping and fabrication. In recent years, 3D printing becomes known to people that it is one of the technology that leading the future, and it comes into wide use that not only high performance industrial 3D printer but also general purpose 3D printer. 3D printing technology have many merits like reducing production cost and time for 3-dimention prototype; small quantity batch production; custom made; and simplifying production process.

   32 Bit 3D Printer Boards are becoming more common now. With recent firmware releases and new developments 32 bit 3d printer boards are the new trend in 3D Printer control. These boards have more powerful processing power and operate the machine with more capabilities. The starting point for any 3D printer is a 3D digital model. The model is then sliced into layers, thereby converting the design of the object into a file readable by the 3D printer. The material processed by the 3D printer is then layered according to the design and the procedure. As specified there are a number of different types of 3D printing technologies, which process different materials in different ways to create the final object. It is important to understand that one of the most basic obstructions of 3D printing in terms of materials and applications is that there is no one solution fits all. Perhaps the most common and easily recognized process is deposition, and this is the process employed by the most of entry-level 3D printers. This process extrudes plastics, commonly PLA or ABS, in filament form through a heated

   extruder to form layers and create the predefined shape.

2. LITERATURE VIEW

   Solid modelling of 3D objects introduced in the 1970s and MicroCAD, later known as AutoCAD, appeared in 1982 made it possible to create models of 3D objects of any size by single architects and engineers. But the new revolution in computer-aided manufacturing had still to occur in the 1980s when the computer-assisted additive fabrication of 3D objects was proposed.

   One of the recent developments proposed the application of multi-nozzle extrusion system. The idea is to use several materials instantly in one printing process by using several nozzles in a single 3D printer. However, the application of several materials is new and has not been fully developed yet. The challenge lies in determining the mechanical property of the printed materials. It is obvious that the use of composite materials will change the mechanical property of

   the printed objects. Therefore, there is a requirement to develop a method to predict the property of the proposed composite materials which should be integrated into the new develop software for multi-material 3D printers [1].

   The Rep Rap printer consisted of a 3-axis robot mounting one or more extruders using Fused Filament Fabrication derived from Fused Deposition Modelling. Software and hardware were open-source, including the electronics based on Arduino platform. The addressed market was that of individuals (Do It Yourself (DIY) or Makers) who were invited to modify and produce parts of their own printers [2].

   For a high quality of printing, the height of the nozzle for printing the first layer is an important control parameter. If the height is too high, it may cause the printed part to fail to stick on the print bed. If the height is too low, it may stop melted plastic out from the nozzle. In order to smooth the printing task, an inductive proximity sensor was installed to develop an auto-bed-levelling system to optimally locate the height of the printer nozzle during a print job [3].

   Three dimensional software (CATIA) was used to generate 3D CAD model of the parts and exported to STL (Stereolithography) file format. STL file format then transferred to the Accucraft i250+ software. This machine software performs some necessary operation such as tessellation of 3D model, generation of head movement path and machine parameters. Further command and control instructions is given to machine for the fabrication of 3D parts. In this research three process parameters each at two levels with their total three interactions are considered. Three parameters such as raster width, slice height, and path speed each at two levels are considered [4].

   Unlike printed electronics, 3D-Printing provides the following opportunities for electronic packaging: We can build truly 3D-Packages with circuitry and components embedded into the package, Use multiple materials (functional, structural, etc.), Embed electrical components into the 3Dpakage/ system as is its being fabricated [5].

3. PROPOSED SYSTEM

   The figure 1. Shows the software stages used in 3D- Printing. The first step is to use a CAD software tool such as Fusion 360, to build up the 3D geometrical shapes or may receive data from a scanner of a real-life object. The next step is to then export the 3D geometry file to STL format for use in a slicing code such as Ultimaker Cura. Slicing is dividing a 3D model into hundreds or thousands of horizontal layers and it is done with slicing software. Some 3D printers have a built in slicer and let you feed the raw .stl file format. When your file is sliced, then a code must be generated to feed into the 3D printer. This can be done via USB, SD card or internet. Your sliced 3D model is now ready to get printed layer by layer. These codes slice the 3D-model into two dimensional layers that can then be printed, using G CODE which is the language of the printer.

   Figre 1. Process Flow Diagram FDM Technology-

   3D printing utilizing the extrusion of thermoplastic

   material is easily the most common and perceptible 3DP process. The most popular name of the process is Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM).

   The process works by melting plastic filament that is deposited, through a heated extruder, a layer at a time, onto a build platform according to the 3D data supplied to the printer. Each layer hardens as it is deposited and fuse to the previous layer. The most common materials for

   Entry level 3D printers are ABS and PLA.

   The FDM processes require support structures for any applications with overhanging geometries. For FDM, this requires a second, water-soluble material, which allows support structures to be relatively easily washed away, once the print is complete. Alternatively, breakaway support material is also possible, which can be removed by manually snapping them off the part. Support structures have generally been a limitation of the entry level FFFF (Fused Filament Fabrication) 3D printers. The process can be slow for some part geometries and layer-to-layer adhesion can be a problem, resulting in parts that are not water tight. Again, post-processing using Acetone can resolve these issues.

   Figure 3. FDM 3D printing

   For the successful completion of 3D printing work, we also need to check whether the size of the model is in the range of the print size depending on the printer's print range, if it exceed the maximum printing range of the 3D printer, it need to remodify the size. In order to achieve the effect of rapid prototyping, before 3D printing, we slicing an object into a layer by layer section, after the completion of the slice, slicing software need to make information of slice the object shape, size and other related into the G-code instruction which 3D printer to be able to identify for finish the task of 3D printing

   3D Printing Materials – There is now a wide variety of different material types, specific materials are now generally developed for specific platforms performing dedicated applications. Plastics: Nylon or Polyamide is often used in powder form with the sintering process or in filament form with the FDM process. It is a strong, flexible and durable plastic material that has proved reliable for 3D printing technology. It is normally white in colour but it can be coloured pre or post printing. ABS is another common plastic used for 3D printing, and is extensively used on the entry- level FDM 3D printers in filament form. It is a particularly strong plastic and comes in a broad range of colours. PLA is a bio-degradable plastic material. It can be utilized in filament form for the FDM process. It is offered in a variety of colours, including transparent plastic, which has proven to be a useful option for some applications of 3D printing. However it is not as durable or as flexible as ABS is.

4. BLOCK DIAGRAM & WORKING

   Figure 5. Block diagram of 3D printer

   In Figure 5. The block diagram shows mainly two sides. First is Computer side and the other side is Printer side.

   1. Computer Side

      1. (CAD) Computer Aided Design: Autodesk Fusion 360 is used in the proposed syatem. Here the 3D model of the object is to be printed in designed. In this project sketch up is used. Once the model is done it is saved as .stl or

         .obj file.

      2. (CAM) Computer Aid Manufacturing: The Ultimaker Cura slicer software is used to break down the complete model into several layers. These layers could be hundreds. Cura is an open source slicing application. It is available under LGPLv3 license. It works by slicing the users model file into layers and generating a printer- specific g-code. Cura is compatible with most desktop 3D printers can work with files in the most common 3D formats. It has cloud-backup functionality and High- quality.

      3. G-code Creator: Here the entire model is converted into g codes in order to create a path across the XYZ axis. G- code is inbuilt in the CAM software. The model is converted into G-code by the manual command.

      4. Serial Port: A USB connector is used to connect the PC to the printer. It is used for the communication between the PC and the printer.

   2. Printer Side

   1. Controller: Marlin Firmware runs on the 3D printers main board, managing all the real-time activities of the machine. It coordinates the heaters, steppers, sensors, lights, LCD display, buttons, and everything else include in the 3D printing process. It works as an interpreter of G- code. The controller here we are using an Arm cortex 32 bit.

   2. Stepper Driver: This driver is used to provide the full 12v to the motor whenever the high logic is sent to it by the controller the 5v controller logic is not capable to drive the motor, hence provides the 12v to it in response to the high logic.

   3. Stepper Motor: These motors are DC motor with an angular movement. Each motor is responsible to each of the axis XYZ. As the motor moves the Axial shift happens due to the pulley and conveyor belt mechanism. Even though the motor possess the rotary movement the end movement is linear in nature.

   4. Hot End and Thermistor: Hot end is also known as the Extruder. The filament is heated and pours the molten plastic along the path. Thermistor is a temperature sensor used to sense the temperature of the Extruder.

5. RESULTS

   We have successfully created a model block, the 3 D model is print up on the bed size 11 X 11 cm. For the hot bed the aluminium sheet is used and on the lower side the copper strip is connect with the supply to heat up the bed. The temperature of the bed is measured by the thermistor. The ABS filament is used whose melting temperature is 190

   230 degree Celsius. We control the machine using the Firmware Marlin host software. All the functions of extruder, temperature, heating, cooling fan, controlling all the X, Y, Z axis can be managed using these softwares. Once the extruder is set to the specific temperature, object is loaded and printing is started. Hence the machine prints the object layer by layer according to the G code file is provided. actual 3D model is created from the CAD software and slicing is done by the Ultimaker Cura.

   Following are the Specifications of proposed 3D Printer: Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM) Technology

   Marlin Firmware

   Build Dimensions Max: 110 X 110 mm PLA and ABS plastic materials Filament Dimension Max: 1.75mm Nozzle Diameter size: 0.4mm

   Printing Temperature: Nozzle 190 degree Celsius, Bed 60 degree Celsius

   Costing : 12,000 INR

6. CONCLUSION

Now as we know, 3D printer has ample range of advantages and applications, hence we decided to work for this project and enhance our skills for the latest innovative technology. So initially we found the origin and history of 3D Printer, how it is to be made, what technology can be used, what is the complete procedure to build the 3D Printer. The first is Introduction part and followed by the Literature survey conducted. Further the proposed system and design necessary for the project are studied, and the results that we got. Implementing and designing the Printer using FDM technology was a learning experience. 3D printing has tremendous potential and can bring a revolution to our whole industry. It can give on to Socio-Economic benefits for the world. By this project we can make a lot of new prototype models which will be fruitful for future generations in medical and various fields of applications. We wanted to explore and examine the virtual reality objects can be design by ourselves by such mechanism.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

We would like to show our gratitude to the SOLIDBeta 3D printing & prototyping services for sharing their pearls of wisdom with us during the course of this research. The authors would also like to acknowledge the project guide Dr. Deepak Gawali. Head of Department o the Instrumentation Engineering of Vidyavardhinis College of Engineering & Technology.

REFERENCES

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