Abstract
As low-cost desktop 3D printing is now dominated by free and open source self-replicating rapid prototype (RepRap) derivatives, there is an intense interest in extending the scope of potential applications to manufacturing. This study describes a manufacturing technology that enables a constrained set of polymer-metal composite components. This paper provides (1) free and open source hardware and (2) software for printing systems that achieves metal wire embedment into a polymer matrix 3D-printed part via a novel weaving and wrapping method using (3) OpenSCAD and parametric coding for customized g-code commands. Composite parts are evaluated from the technical viability of manufacturing and quality. The results show that utilizing a multi-polymer head system for multi-component manufacturing reduces manufacturing time and reduces the embodied energy of manufacturing. Finally, it is concluded that an open source software and hardware tool chain can provide low-cost industrial manufacturing of complex metal-polymer composite-based products.
Highlights
The increased utilization [1,2] of self-replicating rapid prototyper (RepRap) 3D printers [3,4] using fused filament fabrication (FFF) [5] has increased the engineering applications of polymer extrusion materials
Multi-head printers are readily available from re:3D, Aleph Objects, Prusa Research and other open source 3D printer manufacturers, and distributed designs are downloadable with creative commons and GPL licenses from the RepRap wiki and Internet repositories of 3D designs
To further the scope of potential applications of RepRap manufacturing, this paper aims to describe a manufacturing technology that accomplishes a partial step forward to true multi-material selection
Summary
The increased utilization [1,2] of self-replicating rapid prototyper (RepRap) 3D printers [3,4] using fused filament fabrication (FFF) (material extrusions by ASTM F2792-12a: Standard Terminology for Additive Manufacturing Technologies) [5] has increased the engineering applications of polymer extrusion materials. Printable polymer material characterization has increased the knowledge available to engineers for common PLA and ABS materials [6,7,8,9] along with an increasing list of thermoplastics [10,11], polymer metal composite materials [12,13,14] and polymer ceramic composite materials [15,16,17,18] for a number of novel applications, including medical and health-related components [19,20,21,22,23]. Ma et al developed processing techniques to manufacture heterogeneous structures/composites using thin wall mold cavities and reusable multipart molds by combining shape deposition manufacturing (SDM), FFF and casting [26]
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