Employing a Low-Cost Desktop 3D Printer: Challenges, and How to Overcome Them by Tuning Key Process Parameters

Abstract

3D printing has been referred as being the third industrial revolution and was introduced as an innovative fabrication method in order to overcome shortcomings of existing prototyping fabrication techniques. This method involved the forthright fabrication of three-dimensional solid objects derived from a digital CAD file. The advancements in additive manufacturing technology in combination with the expiration of several patents led to the dramatic reduction of 3D printing equipment purchasing and usage costs thus making the technology available to wide masses. However, due to the modus operandi of the additive process, that functions in a layer to layer building principle, technical expertise is needed to properly operate such devices. Therefore, several parameters have to be carefully tuned and a certain level of expertise is required in order to accomplish the desired printing results. In addition, the newly introduced FFF lower-end desktop 3D printers suffer more from these disadvantages and therefore limit users to intermediate or unsatisfactory printing results. This article looks into 3D printing challenges while stressing the contribution of key process parameters in printing results. Different process parameter settings are tested, depicting the differences in printing quality, while optimal parameter settings are being proposed.