Abstract
Material Extrusion has been used extensively as an additive manufacturing technology for a variety of applications like visual models, functional prototypes, tooling components, patterns for castings, and final parts. The current research paper proposes a study on the material type influence on economic objectives in material extrusion fabrication of complex assemblies. Three economic objectives have been analysed, namely, estimated fabrication time, material usage and material cost, whilst two commercial additive manufacturing machines have been considered for the simulation. Cura and ZSuite slicing software were used for the generation of Gcode and project files. Five filaments were selected from the same manufacturer and all components of the selected assembly were included in the analysis. Throughout the study, the additive manufacturing parameters were kept constant, as well as the component layout on the build platform of the two machines. Study results were analysed in correspondence with the manufacturing requirements and the optimum fabrication scenario was selected. Further research includes the analysis of multiple material manufacturers, in order to evaluate the influence of chemical composition on economic outputs.
Highlights
Developing a new product involves understanding the needs and desires of customers, the competitive environment and the market typology [1]
The process of product development has undergone a huge evolution in recent years, at the same time with the increase of the rate of adoption of additive manufacturing (AM) technologies, themselves already having an age of maturity of more than 30 years
In the report "The state of 3D printing 2018" [9], Sculpteo researchers state that Fused Deposition Modelling was the most used technology in 2017 (36%) and 2018 (46%) with an ascending general trend
Summary
Developing a new product involves understanding the needs and desires of customers, the competitive environment and the market typology [1]. Others claim that these technologies will continue to be used primarily for prototyping applications [7]. In the report "The state of 3D printing 2018" [9], Sculpteo researchers state that Fused Deposition Modelling (a proprietary name for MEX by a leading international AM company) was the most used technology in 2017 (36%) and 2018 (46%) with an ascending general trend In this context, the current research paper proposes a study on the material type influence on three economic objectives in MEX fabrication. The importance of this research relies on the benefits which could be brought to companies in the early product development stages
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