PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS AND PARAMETER OPTIMIZATION OF DESKTOP

3D PRINTER USING SCREW BASED EXTRUSION

JACKSON J
M140336ME
Manufacturing Technology

Guided by: Mr. Sudheer A P

Guided by: Dr.Jose Mathew

Assistant Professor, MED

Professor, MED

Abstract
3D printing is an additive manufacturing process and parts are fabricated
by deposition of layers. This process is important in the development of prototypes,
functional parts, on demand manufacturing, manufacturing of complex parts and rapid
tooling for reducing complexities and lead time. Recent development in the field of 3D
printing is the use of pellets instead of filaments for printing of objects. Filaments are
available only for some materials which are costly and spools used are bulky. Every
plastic product starts out in pellets and readily available in hundreds of materials, each
with unique properties some materials are rigid and durable, some are soft to touch
and flexible. Hence, screw based extrusion can be used for printing a lot of cool and
good products using pellets. The cost per kilogram of pellets is less compared to
filaments.
This project focuses on modification, performance analysis and workspace
optimization of 3D printing using screw based extrusion. This includes assembly of
various subsystems of the printer and testing for analysing the quality of work

Introduction
In screw based extrusion a broad range of polymer materials can be
processed in a wide range of viscosities, increasing the application of 3D printed
objects. Principle behind screw based 3D printing involves gradually pressurizing and

forcing polymer pellets through a die. Thermal degradation of the polymer is less due
to homogeneous and localized melt process.

Previous work
Flow analysis of polymer is done.
Shear rate distribution is determined at inlet and outlet.
Flow velocity at inlet and outlet is determined.
Fabrication of extruder head is done.
Fabrication of sub-assemblies of printer is done
In previous work, only design and fabrication is completed. Working model is
not made due to some problems with extrusion speed and uneven temperature
distribution. A modification in the extruder is required for making the printer functional.

Need for improvement of existing work

Integration of subsystems to achieve a fully functional setup
Identifying the process parameters and optimization.

Literature review
Model orientation
Gorski et al. 2013 [1] the aim of the study was to identify the relation
between basic parameters of the FDM process model orientation during
manufacturing, its dimensional accuracy and repeatability of obtaining products
It is not easy to select a proper orientation to meet all the requirements
regarding accuracy and strength
Influence of temperature on structure of prototypes
Gajdos et al. 2013 [2] the aim of the paper was to show how the structure
of the FDM prototypes are influenced by changing the processing temperature and
layout on base plate.

The influence of processing temperature on structure homogeneity was

less significant in parts with circular-section than in the part with rectangular crosssesction

Limits and requirements for smaller nozzle

Monzon et al. 2012[3] the aim of this paper was to explore the limits and
special requirements for additive manufacturing using polymer extrusion with a
nozzle diameter much smaller than the conventional one: 0.050 mm diameter
The relatively high pressure drop in micro nozzle obstructs the commercial
options of feeding a filament by rollers

Thermal dynamics of the extrusion process

Vera sorroche et al.2012 [4] The aim of this paper was to introduce inprocess monitoring techniques to study the thermal dynamics of the extrusion
process, since melting of the polymer depends upon thermal conduction and
viscous shearing between a rotating screw and a barrel
To maximize melt efficiency screw extruder should be maintain at highest
possible throughput

Optimization approach for components with parametric internal structures

Villalpando et al.2014 [5] An optimization model that considers the build
time, material usage, surface finish, interior geometry, strength characteristics and
related parameters are presented which helps in making informed decision with
respect to these parameters are developed using the Genetic Algorithm approach.
Further study of interactions at the boundaries is to be performed and
characterize to understand the effect of the internal topology of the samples. This
leads to a further study that deals with heat deposition characterization, which is
inherently related to distortion.
.

Research gap
Influence of temperature on structure homogeneity is not clearly defined
Temperature analysis of polymer during extrusion
Effect of process parameters like Airgap, Envelope temperature, Orientation,
Contour fill, Extrusion temperature, Layer thickness, Deposition speed, Build
plane

Objectives
Integration of subsystems to achieve a fully functional setup
Identifying the process parameters and its optimization using non-conventional
algorithms
Work Plan
Literature survey (June 2015 Sep 2015 )
Studying the problems associated with the current setup (July 2015 Oct 2015)
Integration into a wholly functional model (Oct 2015 Dec 2015)
Studying the parameters for improving print quality (Dec 2015 - Feb 2016)
optimization processing parameters by using non-conventional algorithms
(Feb 2016 May 2016)

References

[1] Gorski, et al., 2013, Influence of Process Parameters on Dimensional Accuracy

of Parts Manufactured Using Fused Deposition Modeling Technology, Advances
in Science and Technology Research Journal (7) pp. 27-35.

[2] Gajdos, et al., 2013, Influence of Printing Conditions on Structure In

Prototypes, Tehnicki vjesnik 20, pp. 231-236

FDM

[3] Monzon, et al., 2012, Process and material behavior modeling for a new design of
micro-additive fused deposition, Int J Adv Manuf Technol (67), pp. 27172726

[4] Vera sorroche, et al., 2012, Thermal optimisation of polymer extrusion using inprocess monitoring techniques,. Applied Thermal Engineering, 53(2), 405413.

[5] Villalpando, et al., 2014, An optimization approach for components built by fused
deposition modelling with parametric internal structures, Procedia CIRP (17), pp.
800805