A Multi-criteria decision making approach for 3D printer nozzle material selection

Abstract

Rapid advancements in 3D printing technology have compelled the manufacturers to search for better nozzle material in the extruder of 3D printers. Materials ranging from brass to tungsten carbide and ruby are primarily used as the nozzle material. In 3D printing technology, due to major constraints imposed by the filament material and other decisive factors, no single nozzle material satisfies all the desired characteristics for a real time application. Thus, it has become crucial to select the most appropriate nozzle material with the desired properties for enhanced 3D printing performance. In this paper, the performance of eight candidate nozzle materials is evaluated based on nine selection criteria. Entropy method is utilized to determine the criteria weights, whereas, evaluation based on distance from average solution (EDAS) method is employed to identify the best suited 3D printer nozzle material. Tungsten carbide emerges out as the best choice, followed by titanium alloy (TiAl6V4). This paper also proposes a sensitivity analysis to establish the robustness of the adopted methodology.