Marlon Wesley Machado Cunico, Miriam Machado Cunico, Patrick Medeiros Cavalheiro and Jonas de Carvalho
The additive manufacturing technologies have been facing an extraordinary growth along the past years. This phenomenon might be correlated with rise of low-cost FDM technologies…
Abstract
Purpose
The additive manufacturing technologies have been facing an extraordinary growth along the past years. This phenomenon might be correlated with rise of low-cost FDM technologies into the non-professional market segment. In contrast with that, among the main disadvantages found in this sort of equipment are the final object finishing and low mechanical strength. For that reason, the purpose of this paper is to present and characterise a surface treatment which is based on solvent vapour attack and that is also known as smoothing process. In addition, a concise overview about the theory beneath this process is presented besides an experimental study that evaluates the main effects on the mechanical properties of object.
Design/methodology/approach
To analyse the benefits of this process, the authors preliminarily investigated the working mechanism that supports such surface treatment. It allowed them to identify and select a proper solvent for each material. The authors have also established that the exposure time repetition numbers (passes) were the main variables, whereas temperature, solvent type, drying time, object direction and object shape were constants. The main object dimensions, surface roughness, absorbed solvent mass and mechanical strength were the main study responses.
Findings
As a result of this work, the peak-peak roughness was reduced in 71 per cent, indicating the potential benefit of this process. On the other hand, excessive solvent exposure implied on relevant dimensional distortions and internal disruptures. It was also possible to see that the vapourised solvent penetrate into the object surface and fused layers and filaments. As consequence, the mechanical strength was also improved.
Originality/value
Despite the growth that additive manufacturing market segment has seen along the past years, the finishing and mechanical strength of low-cost equipment still lack for improvements. For that reason, applications like solvent vapour attack or smoothing process new perspectives for this non-professional segment, whereas roughness and mechanical strength are improved after its treatment. As a consequence, it is possible to consider a final object to be obtained directly from low-cost FDM in combination with smoothing process.
Details
Keywords
Marlon Wesley Machado Cunico, Carlos Marcus Gomes da Silva Cruz, Miriam Machado Cunico and Neri Volpato
The purpose of this paper is to identify the key elements of a new rapid prototyping process, which involves layer‐by‐layer deposition of liquid‐state material and at the same…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify the key elements of a new rapid prototyping process, which involves layer‐by‐layer deposition of liquid‐state material and at the same time using an ultraviolet line source to cure the deposited material. This paper reports studies about the behaviour of filaments, deposition accuracy, filaments interaction and functional feasibility of system. Additionally, the author describes the process which has been proposed, the equipment that has been used for these studies and the material which was developed in this application.
Design/methodology/approach
The research has been separated into three study areas in accordance with their goals. In the first, both the behaviour of filament and deposition accuracy was studied. The design of the experiment is described with focus on four response factors (bead width, filament quality, deposition accuracy and deposition continuity) along with function of three control factors (deposition height, deposition velocity and extrusion velocity). The author also studied the interaction between filaments as a function of bead centre distance. In addition, two test samples were prepared to serve as a proof of the methodology and to verify the functional feasibility of the process which has been studied.
Findings
The results show that the proposed process is functionally feasible, and that it is possible to identify the main effects of control factors over response factors. That analysis is used to predict the condition of process as a function of the parameters which control the process. Also identified were distances of centre beads which result in a specific behaviour. The types of interaction between filaments were analysed and sorted into: union, separation and indeterminate. At the end, the functional feasibility of process was proved whereby two test parts could be built.
Originality/value
This paper proposes a new rapid prototyping process and also presents test studies related to this proposition. The author has focused on the filament behaviour, deposition accuracy, interaction between filaments and studied the functional feasibility of process to provide new information about this process, which at the same time is useful to the development of other rapid prototyping processes.