Determination of Design Limitations of Curved Profiles Manufactured by Robotics Non-Planar Additive Manufacturing

Abstract

The emerging trend of employing 4 or more axes multi-purpose and gantry industrial robots in large format additive manufacturing presents numerous opportunities as well as challenges. The capacity to handle substantial material quantities and rapidly produce prototypes, instrumentation, and final products of considerable dimensions necessitates the formulation of a well-suited production strategy. This involves setting production parameters to minimize material consumption and production time, considering the limitations of the utilized technologies, and ensuring the final product’s quality. While slicers are commonly employed for establishing manufacturing strate - gies and production parameters, most additive manufacturing slicers are optimized for planar 3 axes 3D printing. This limitation hinders their ability to generate non-planar and freeform toolpaths. To overcome this constraint, this paper delves into the utilization of parametric modelling as a potent tool in the realm of non-planar additive manufacturing. It explores the possibilities offered by Rhinoceros Grasshopper software in designing toolpath strategies and fabricating non-planar layers. The paper addresses the associated challenges and limitations of parametric modelling, including computational complexity and the requirement for specialized software and expertise. It emphasizes the crucial need to strike a balance between design complexity and manufacturability to ensure the successful implementation of non-planar additive manufacturing processes.