Thermal Measurements Based on Image Processing for <i>In Situ</i> Monitoring of 3D Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF)

Abstract

Nowadays new applications based on the 3D printing technique demand increasingly strict product quality requirements. The in-situ monitoring of variables associated with the manufacturing process through the application of different techniques could help to evaluate the process and ultimately to ensure product quality. In this regard, the acquisition and evaluation of variables and indexes derived from thermographic analysis during the process are key for an early defect detection and can contribute to quality estimation. In this work, a new methodology is proposed for the monitoring and analysis of the additive manufacturing process based on the processing of thermographic images from an LWIR (Long Wave Infrared) camera. The methodology and the suitability of the variables and indexes extracted during the monitoring of the manufacturing process are discussed for the case of a 3D fused filament fabrication of polymers.