Resistive-IR Hybrid Heating in FDM Printing

Abstract

FDM printing is based on resistance to heat of the polymer filament, which starts in a viscous state and is extruded from nozzle to the printing area. The printing area is hot around 70°C for a better adherence of the deposited polymer and for slow cooling of it. The later deposited layers will experience faster cooling and the characteristics of the polymer will suffer light changes. The paper aims to present the results of a preliminary research regarding the double source successive heating and double source hybrid heating of the extruded polymer in FDM process. There were used two distinct heat sources, the resistive source mounted in the extrusion nozzle and IR lamp heat source placed in the printing chamber. The first heating, which acts during the extrusion process, is a hybrid heating and it is developed inside the extrusion nozzle (hot-end); it is given by the resistive heat source by the IR lamp. After the extrusion, during the deposition process and after the deposition process, the heating of the polymer continues due to the IR lamp. The difference between the printing with IR heating and without IR heating was monitored. A decreasing of about 5-8% of the material stiffness was noticed when the IR lamp was introduced. The material became more viscous and the bonding of the successive layers was improved. DSC analysis has been performed in both cases: with and without IR heat source. The evolution of the elastic modulus proved a decreasing of the plasticity during the simple printing process. The decreasing was less (at least by about 25%) when used IR heat source. The elongation viscosity was analysed and its values were decreasing while the temperature was increasing that took place. The decreasing was produced by the reduction of the elasticity, when the chain branches were decreasing their length. The decreasing is more pronounced while the increasing of the temperature. A low difference (of about 2-5%) was observed to the mechanical characteristics after tensile tests.