Liquefier Dynamics in Fused Deposition

Abstract

Layered manufacturing (LM) is an evolution of rapid prototyping (RP) technology whereby a part is built in layers. Fused deposition modeling (FDM) is a particular LM technique in which each section is fabricated through vector style deposition of building blocks, called roads, which are then stacked layer by layer to fabricate the final object. The latest improvements in this technology brought about the possibility of fabricating not only a model but even the finished product. This paper presents the analysis of the liquefier dynamics towards establishing control strategies for flow control during the extrusion phase, which is necessary to achieve the mentioned objective.