Development of Fused Deposition Modeling Using Five-Axis Machine and Printing Methods

Abstract

Fused deposition modeling (FDM) is one of most widely used 3D printing technologies due to inexpensive equipment and materials, and easy to operate. FDM forms a 3D geometry by slicing a model along the XY-plane and assembling the resulting individual layers along the Z-axis, with extruded thermoplastic filaments. FDM printed parts usually need supporting structures, have stair step effect, and unfavorable mechanical properties. In order to address these deficiencies, a five-axis 3D printer and corresponding printing methods are proposed and developed in this paper. The 3D printer was designed five degrees of freedom through adding a platform that can rotate and swing. Based on the obtained results from different case studies, the discussed machine and methods could become more significant in industrial applications such as low cost, fabricating parts with better surface quality and lightweight structures.