How to develop the 3D printer?

What is a 3D printer?

How to develop the 3D printer? 3D printer is hour of the need now days as it is gaining more attention as a new technology. It is also termed as umbrella to produce 3D objects. It is very important in macroscopic perspectives. It is widely used after 1980 as it consumes less time and is very effective. The question arises when companies need to consider 3D printing as they will require designing tangible objects in future through digital fabrication. It is actually conversion of data into things and vice versa. It has various benefits like mass customization, new capabilities, lead time and speed, supply chain simplification and waste reduction. 3DP is already being used in prototyping and small batch production. The market value of 3DP is expected to be 20 billion till 2020.

Introduction to 3D printer

3D printer has just begins in prototyping and being widely used in industrial market. There are now easily available to customers. In 1980s, to create scale models using computer aided design (CAD) 3D printers were used. The first patent for 3D printing technology was introduced by Charles Hull for “Apparatus for production of 3 Dimensional Objects by stereo lithography”.

In 1986 Hull started the first 3D printing company. The printers were protected by patent of company’s industrial market.

As explained by Dr. Bryony Core, a technology analyst at ID Tech Ex, that the “3D printing technologies have been existing since 1980 after the expiration of strategic patent in 2009 for securing their ownership of fused deposition modeling (FDM)”.

It contains a material which is put successive layers and each layer is automatically added to previous layer and thus it becomes a base for next layer. For printing process the thermoplastic inks are mostly used. They are soft and pliable within a temperature range. They can also be converted into solid form when allowed to cool. It contains bed on which object is printed. It is covered with an adhesive material and some ink. Temperature is also added to avoid distortion in object. The temperature of the extruder may be set manually, depending upon the model. Print file commands the microcontroller which further controls the position of nozzle. Some printer used USB ports to read files. They also require a specific amount of ink at nozzle positions X, Y and Z. Now we are very close to the question How to develop the 3D printer?

Formats in Printer File

Print file is used to direct the position of nozzle and it also controls the ink. CAD Programmers are widely used to produce files. STL format is used to create a support for CHUCK HULL’s original 3D printers. Layering process of one extruder is also supported by it .3D manufacturing format was announced in 2015.

Future Enhancements

Industries are using 3D printer to capture 3D data, precise control and material which is available.

Expiration of patents give rise to new inks and printing technologies are also been tackled .it is a very exciting technology for electrical engineers as it uses conductive ink through which can make components such as sensors or LEDs. Magnetic filaments can also be used and print will stick to

It .These materials are present in filament, liquid metal and grind form.  They can also print above 3 axes and these objects are suitable for high end components. The figure shown below in spool holders which in printed using PLA and carbon fiber inks. It took four hours to print. The cost of PLA is about 3.00$ and price of carbon fiber is 5.50$ during working check extruder temperatures

In 2012, the price of 3D Printers was 2,200$ million in 2012 and now it is likely to hit 7,240$ million by 2019.it is very recreate things for engineers we can utilize in it various way.it is becoming very popular now a days.

Problem Statement

How to develop the 3D printer? With economics of scale due to wide ranging price of 3D technology are less prescriptive to many institutions the renowned trading models at the low cost and whose values ranges from 399$ to 1375$ however a large number of options are available involve significant research into finding options hardware software and available modules it should be mindful that its assembly development in libraries of school and plot of modules an addition and program stretching strategy would greatly support acquiring and occurring practice of 3D printing in education.

For students the modernity of 3D printing must be coherent with the requirements of stem and other rules. Upcoming research may exhibit the captions of 3D printing to provide a special way of stimulating creativity and enhancing solution skills in schools that can attain various standards and 21st century skills. The American Association of schools librarians supports quality education that mentally nourishes students for new innovations in the future.

Objectives

3D printer is used for making 3D dimension structure of any solid objects. Instead of using traditional method 3D printing use advance and efficient method to form 3D structure and shapes      by using material less than commonly used traditional method.

3D printing industries used many forms new technologies, manufacturing methods, and materials. 3D printings techniques are used in number of industries including fabrics, metals, bio and other industries. 3D printings are mostly used in daily routine work of number of industries and other operations of businesses. The 3D printings are used to create prototypes, graphs, various models that also have option to run wirelessly. It also facilitates learning by the aid of computers to generate 3D models by using various software and technologies.

[CAD] file is a digital design for instance. It is opposite to the cutting out a piece of metals, plastics and hollowing out by milling machine. This is based on the data generated by 3D Scanners. Because these 3D scanners are able to creates 3D shapes and structure of any object. In aerospace, transportation, furniture fabric and fashion industries are used these 3D models that are generated by 3D printers.

The use of these 3D printers in various sector are given below:

  • Services
  • Healthcare sectors
  • Consumer Goods

Literature Review 

The article introduce to 3D printer’s based technology study. The article demonstrates how a Cartesian 3D printer work and how it print a three dimension solid object. The 3D printers can more easily create parts with complex geometries than using conventional means, even complex parts where it’s not possible at all to use conventional means. The main objective is to make a 3D printer based on Marlin framework network which runs on 8-bit Atmel AVR microcontrollers. To operate stepper motors DRV8825 stepper motor driver is used. The DRV8825 have 1/32 micro stepping. The aim is to develop a project that could print the desired object of any shape in three dimensions. And the project should be able to reduce human efforts or at least minimize them.

This paper illustrate how Cartesian 3D print solid object. The system consist extruder which extrudes the plastic filament in liquid form and deposit it on the printing platform by adding successive layers. The extrusion nozzle moves vertically up and down. The printing platform which holds the 3D model moves horizontally forward and backward. The extruder and printing platform moves according to the shape of object that has to be printed.

3d printer
3d printer

The project consist NEMA 17 stepper motors which are supplied power by SMPS 12v (switched mode power supply) to position the extruder and printing platform. E3d v6.1 hot end is used which liquefy the plastic filament at 3000C temperature. PTFE Teflon tube is used to prevent travelling up of heat from hot end. The PTFE tube reduces the friction and improves the quality of the object to be printed. [3]

The 3D printer is able to print any kind of object and it is being used in all the human working spaces and it covers all the industries listed below which is the main motivation for us to put our hands on this technology and to build 3d Printer. The industrial 3D printers are not only being capable to perform complex tasks but it saves a lot of money and time, also reduces the human efforts and provides the pin point accuracy. [4]

Construction of Buildings

To construct modern houses the giant 3D printers are used which use extrusion 3D technology. In this case paste-type components such as concrete are used as filament. The material is pushed out of a special nozzle to form layers. The printer is use to creates the base structure and walls of the house or building, layer by layer. The ground is literally the printer’s build plate. A very few concrete 3D printers, however, are used to 3D print brick molds. When molded, the bricks are then piled atop each other manually. For construction the 3D technology is affordable, ecofriendly and provides benefit that curved walls can be constructed with an ease. But it has major drawback that the houses constructed by 3D printing have rough exterior not as smooth as the manually constructed houses have. How to develop the 3D printer?

Architectural

How to develop the 3D printer? The 3d printer is cutting edge technology for architectural Field. The 3D printing not only helps to design master pieces of architecture but also reduces the cost incurred on architectural designs. The 3D printing take less time compare to manual labor. Also reduces the painful manual labor work that take a lot of time for the completion of designs. The 3D printing provides a major benefit that we can easily make changes in our model.

Aerospace

The 3D printing is compatible with every man made structural models in Mother Nature that it helps to design the aerospace tools. The 3D printing helps to design low cost pre-production models with full details and saves a lot of time. Generally it saves 60% to 90% cost of production in aviation. The major benefit of 3D Printing models is that it allows designing a multicolor model to have greater understanding of the product in pre-production process particularly for high end interior build-outs.

Aerospace Applications

 

Application Example  Requirements Recommended Process Recommended Material
Engine Compartment Tarmac nozzle bezel Heat resistant functional parts SLS Glass-filled Nylon
Cabin Accessories Console control part Customized functional knobs SLA Standard Resin
Air Ducts Air flow ducting Flexible ducts and bellow directors SLS Nylon 12
Full Size Panels Seat backs & entry doors Large parts with smooth surface finish SLA Standard Resin
Casted Metal Parts Brackets and door handles Metal parts casted using 3D printed patterns SLA & Material Jetting Cast able Resin or Wax

 

Medical

The 3D printing is billion dollar industry for the medical field it is estimated that in 2025 it will worth approximately 3.5bn dollar. Not only has this but it helped to save many lives across the globe. 3D printing can create patient’s specific organ replicas that surgeons can use to practice on before performing complicated operations. A very Few of the procedure has been performed successfully in surgeries. An important case In January 2018 was handled by doctors with great care, where surgeons in Belfast successfully practiced for a kidney transplant for a 22-year-old woman using 3D printed model of her donor’s kidney. Using the 3D printed replica of the kidney, surgeons were able to assess the size and placement of the tumor and cyst. 3D printing in the medical field can be used to produce prosthetic limbs that are suit to fit the wearer. There is an organization named Grit 3D running in Pakistan which by using 3D technology make prosthetic limbs and also do some technological work in many other industries. A Prosthetic model of human hand is shown below in figure.

Prosthetic Model
Prosthetic Model

Rapid prototyping

How to develop the 3D printer? The 3D printing provide quick and easy process which reduce the cost incurred also helps to turn great ideas into successful products. Before getting hands on cutting tools and doing immense labor to get product as desired the 3D printing helps to have glimpse of the pre model of the product in multicolor with all the minor details. Rapid prototyping service helps to design new ideas into reality by making products quickly and effectively. Prototyping by 3D printing helps to design metal, Plastic and full colored printed prototypes.

By keeping in mind all the benefits of 3D technology as described above the goal is to develop a 3D printer that can perform such tasks.

Hardware Implementation

In hardware section, the components which are used are listed below

Hardware Component

  1. LM8UU
  2. SK8 8mm Rod
  3. GT2 20 Teeth Pulley
  4. GT2 Belt
  5. 608Z Bearing
  6. 8mm Lead Screw
  7. NEMA 17 Stepper Motor
  8. Extruder E3DV6 1.75mm
  9. Hot End 0.4mm
  10. PTFE Tube
  11. Flexible Coupler
  12. DRV8825 Driver
  13. 12 V SMPS

The comprehensive description of the components are given below.

LM8UU

LM8UU bearing are straight sliding sort bearing utilized in 3D printing project to make direct movement over direct shaft.

This linear metal ball bearing is kind of something opposite to the radial metal rollers you might be acquainted with. It’s proposed to slide along an 8mm straight shaft, as opposed to turn around it. These are exceptionally thin, and useful for when you need to join a movement carriage onto a railing without including a lot of weight. These are exceptionally fundamental course; they’re intended for a stepper-movement controlled setup so they’re not ultra-smooth. How to develop the 3D printer?

1 LM8UU Ball Bearing
1 LM8UU Ball Bearing

SK8 8mm Rod

Best way to mount smooth rods for linear guiding to printer frame vertically.

SK8 8mm Rod
SK8 8mm Rod
Width 42mm
Length 32mm
Thickness 14mm
Mounting Hole Size 5mm
Bore Size 8mm

 

GT2 20 Teeth Pulley

This pulley is good with a GT2 6 mm timing belt and is utilized to smoothly control the timing belt.

Driver pulleys can be fastened to a shaft rather than driver pulleys which have an orientation enabling them to turn freely. Most driver pulleys can be attached utilizing two set screws, bringing about a reliable setup. For guiding the belt there are two types of driven pulleys: with and without teeth (smooth). Driven pulleys enable you to guide the teeth side of the belt without vibrations that would have been brought about by running them over a smooth surface. How to develop the 3D printer?

GT20 Teeth Pulley
GT20 Teeth Pulley
GT20 Teeth Specifications
GT20 Teeth Specifications

GT2 Belt

It is a timing belt that can be utilized to synchronize the rotating shafts. For best performance we need at least six teeth in contact with the pulley at any time. That limits the opportunity of the belt slipping, and diminishes kickback significantly further. Smaller pulleys like 6 teeth give more torque and more resolution. The most ordinarily discovered belts for 3D printers are made of elastic and strengthened with fiber glass. Rubber belts have greater adaptability yet do extends after some time with use.

GT2 Belt
GT2 Belt
Length  1m
Belt Pitch  2mm
Width  6mm

 

608Z Ball Bearing

This joint permits robust rotational movement, with just a bolt, metal roller and two washers for each joint. They are cheap to make and pardoning to manufacture. It’s ideal in the event that you require joint which can hold its situation at any angle. Metal balls bearing help to reduce rotational friction in our 3D printer project, for the most part utilized in combination with timing belt. These metal balls are appropriate for both radial and axial movements at high speeds. Due to the protecting of the bearing, both the balls just as the grease is very much contained improving the sturdiness and lifetime.

608Z Ball Bearing
608Z Ball Bearing
Thickness  7mm
Outer diameter  22mm
Bore Size  8mm

 

8mm Lead Screw

Lead screws are accuracy machined parts utilized for practically all appropriate 3D printer supplies .They have no backlash, they are impeccably straight and they take into account high load moves without jamming. perfect precision linear movement with lead screw 2mm movement per revolution, best utilized in lead driven z axis in presence of the 2mm movement per revolution we can get high accuracy movement with the lead screw , making is especially fit for z hub in 3D Printers where accuracy is required. This empowers us to in all respects reliably stack layers with low layer height, get flawless prints. Lead fastens works best blend with low backlash coupling.

8mm Lead Screw
8mm Lead Screw
Length  Not Confirmed
Outer diameter 8mm
Pitch 2mm
Lead 2mm

Project Design

Ultimate Cura:

All the functions of component used in the 3D printing machine already described, now working of 3D machine controlled by “Ultimate CURA” software. First of all, “STL File” is built for the object to be printed. The dimensions of objects changed according to demand required, that is length, width, thickness and density etc.

Print Setting
Print Setting

Quality of object to be printed depends upon different parameters, which are following parameters.

  • Fine Spacing
  • Speed
  • Temperature

Fine Spacing

Quality of object is controlled by fine spacing as it is decreased, spacing between layers decreased and more precise object will be printed but, object will take more time to print.   Normal spacing is kept 0.3mm.

Speed

Speed is also an important factor for manufacturing 3D objects, more the speed less will be accuracy. Normal speed is 60mm/s.

Temperature

At low temperatures it is difficult for the filaments to melt PLA material, but at high temperature layers will mix up for normal temperature of heat bed is 60  and filament temperature is 216 .

Slicing

STL File of the object to be printed is sliced into Arduino it will save and control all the system.

Gear Object
Gear Object

Description of Working of 3D printer

How to develop the 3D printer? Arduino and DRV8825 Connections are shown in the figure below, driver DRV8825 controlled the stepper motor. There are five stepper motors used in 3D printing machine. One of them control linear motion along horizontal direction with the help of rod and LM8UU ball bearing. There are two stepper motors used for the movement along Z axis with the help flexible coupler up and down. The movement of heat bed is controlled by one stepper motor with the help of GT20 pulley and belt. The extruder also used one stepper motor for extruding PLA material to the hot end.

Arduino and DRV8825 connection
Arduino and DRV8825 connection
Functional Block Diagram
Functional Block Diagram

Conclusion

How to develop the 3D printer? 3D printer must be evaluated with merits and demerits how technology can vary society and engineering. It creates a layer part by part excluding manufacturing through subtracting methods to lower the price of raw material .We can simply print object of our requirement instead of using big carving methods .Additive manufacturing is far better than subtractive method .With this technology one can manufacture various objects. It is very much cheap to design a logo for company using this.

One can easily obtain all types of objects such as customer products, prototype objects and whatever you want. Addition is far simpler than subtraction.

One always takes into account that whether its requirement can be fulfilled in an effective manner or not and 3D printer is always there to print it. This method is very effective in industries and it is capturing the attention of the world. It can work with speed and accuracy. It saves cost and time. This printing device is superior to all other techniques. It will bring further revolutions in world industries as well.

Also read here for more projects

https://eevibes.com/best-final-year-projects-for-electrical-engineering/how-to-improve-the-power-factor/

How to improve the power factor?

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