Support-Free Layered Process Planning Toward 3 + 2-Axis Additive Manufacturing

Xu, Kuang; Chen, Lufeng; Tang, Kai

doi:10.1109/tase.2018.2867230

Cited by 38 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…The major advantage of our approach compared with [27] is the ability to handle models with handle and loop topology (see the models in Fig.8). For example, when applying the algorithm of Xu et al [27] to the Kitten model of Fig.8, their flooding algorithm is stuck at the fourth region, as shown in Fig.9. When applying their method to the Bunny model with genus-zero topology, the result is similar to ours (see Fig.10), though our result has a slightly smaller J G .…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The planar clipping methodology employed in this work can process general models with a high-genus number, addressing the drawbacks in [28], [17], and [27], which could only process models with skeletal-tree structures. Additionally, the algorithm can be easily tailor-made to support a hardware system with only one rotational axis (e.g., the system shown in Fig.5(a)).…”

Section: B Our Approachmentioning

confidence: 99%

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General Support-Effective Decomposition for Multi-Directional 3-D Printing

Dai

Fang

et al. 2020

IEEE Trans. Automat. Sci. Eng.

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We present a method for fabricating general models with multi-directional 3D printing systems by printing different model regions along with different directions. The core of our method is a support-effective volume decomposition algorithm that minimizes the area of the regions with large overhangs. A beam-guided searching algorithm with manufacturing constraints determines the optimal volume decomposition, which is represented by a sequence of clipping planes. While current approaches require manually assembling separate components into a final model, our algorithm allows for directly printing the final model in a single pass. It can also be applied to models with loops and handles. A supplementary algorithm generates special supporting structures for models where supporting structures for large overhangs cannot be eliminated. We verify the effectiveness of our method using two hardware systems: a Cartesian-motion based system and an angular-motion based system. A variety of 3D models have been successfully fabricated on these systems.Note to Practitioner Abstract-In conventional planar-layer based 3D printing systems, supporting structures need to be added at the bottom of large overhanging regions to prevent material collapse. Supporting structures used in single-material 3D printing technologies have three major problems: being difficult to remove, introducing surface damage, and wasting material. This research introduces a method to improve 3D printing by adding rotation during the manufacturing process. To keep the hardware system relatively inexpensive, the hardware, called a multi-directional 3D printing system, only needs to provide unsynchronized rotations. In this system, models are subdivided into different regions, and then the regions are printed in different directions. We develop a general volume decomposition algorithm for effectively reducing the area that needs supporting structures. When supporting structures cannot be eliminated, we provide a supplementary algorithm for generating supports compatible with multi-directional 3D printing. Our method can speed up the process of 3D printing by saving time in producing and removing supports.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: B Our Approachmentioning

confidence: 99%

General Support-Effective Decomposition for Multi-Directional 3-D Printing

Dai

Fang

et al. 2020

IEEE Trans. Automat. Sci. Eng.

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“…To overcome the limitation of traditional additive manufacturing (AM), more and more researchers have been exploring both software and hardware solutions to eliminate the usage of supporting structures. For the former, Ke Xu [8] proposed a novel multidirectional process planning algorithm for five-axis AM; the core of the strategy was to decompose the model into support-free parts directly pertaining to the cusp-height constraint, each with its own build direction. Jun Zhang [9] developed an adaptive slicing algorithm that could export optimal slices without support structures for five-axis hybrid layered manufacturing.…”

Section: Of 15mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The rotation angle is determined by the normal vector of the base cross-section S i . Assuming the current normal vector is n i ( x i , y i , z i ), the calculation process of the angle is the same that of Equations (7) and (8) in Section 2.2.4.…”

Section: G-code Outputmentioning

confidence: 99%

Oriented to Multi-Branched Structure Unsupported 3D Printing Method Research

Feng

Zhang

et al. 2020

Materials

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For the traditional three-axis (3D) configuration of the additive manufacturing (AM) platform, when printing the target model with a multi-branched structure, it is imperative to construct adequate support structures. To eliminate the use of support during the printing process, a non-directional unsupported 3D printing method for five-axis AM is proposed in this paper. By carrying out the K-means clustering algorithm, the coarse partition of the model is obtained, and then the fine decomposition represented by a sequence of separating planes is determined by a local dynamic search adjustment algorithm according to manufacturing constraints. The multi-branched structure of the model is divided into simple subparts so that the general model can be built in different directions and be printed with its own parts as the support. Two case studies were carried out for verification. The experimental results showed that the branch-model can be printed without support using the non-directional unsupported 3D printing method, and the non-directional unsupported 3D printing can save 18.72–20.60% of materials and 20.60–23.33% of time compared to conventional 3D printing.

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“…Ding et al [10] proposed a multi-directional slicing method based on the stereolithography (STL) format CAD model, using the decomposition-regrouping method to achieve unsupported printing, which is shown to be efficient and straightforward on various tests parts, especially for geometries with a large number of holes. Xu et al [11] decomposed the model into support-free parts directly on the cusp-height constraint, each with its unique build direction, and ultimately eliminated the use of support by taking advantage of the 5-axis MEX platform. Wu et al [12] proposed a five degrees of freedom wireframe printer to print arbitrary grids, developed and applied a collision-free algorithm for local minimum area motion on the edges, and completed the printing of arbitrary wireframe grids, reducing the printing time and material cost of the model.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Research and Implementation of Axial 3D Printing Method for PLA Pipes

Zhang

Zhong

et al. 2020

Applied Sciences

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Additive manufacturing has been applied in many fields, but its layer-by-layer fabrication process leads to a weak inter-layer bond strength of printed parts, so it cannot meet the higher requirements for mechanical properties of the industry. At present, many researchers are studying the printing path planning method to improve the mechanical properties of printed parts. This paper proposes a method to plan the printing path according to the actual stress of pipe parts, and introduces the realization process of an algorithm in detail, and obtains the printing control G-code. Additionally, a 5-axis material extrusion platform was built to realize the printing of polylactic acid pipes with plane and space skeleton curves, respectively, which verified the feasibility and applicability of the method and the correctness of the planning path with standard material extrusion filaments. Finally, the tensile and bending experiments prove that axial printing enhances the mechanical properties of pipe parts.

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Support-Free Layered Process Planning Toward 3 + 2-Axis Additive Manufacturing

Cited by 38 publications

References 30 publications

General Support-Effective Decomposition for Multi-Directional 3-D Printing

General Support-Effective Decomposition for Multi-Directional 3-D Printing

Oriented to Multi-Branched Structure Unsupported 3D Printing Method Research

Research and Implementation of Axial 3D Printing Method for PLA Pipes

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