Alternate slicing and deposition strategies for fused deposition modelling of light curved parts

Fused deposition modeling (FDM), as one of the additive manufacturing (AM) techniques, has been widely used in the manufacturing industry from the 1990s. It is relatively cheaper than other AM methods and there are other advantages such as being able to process a variety of other polymers. Currently, FDM is more likely to be suitable for direct production of the terminal-use parts, in some cases challenging traditional process such as injection molding. Research evidences indicate that change of road and layer structure would have significant influence on the meso-structure and thus impact the mechanical properties of the resulting polymer parts. Adaptive flat layer deposition and curved layer deposition have been introduced to improve the mechanical properties of terminal-use product. It is necessary that an appropriate deposition scheme is essential to ensure the best interroad and inter-layer connectivity. Uninterrupted connections are likely to result in a continuous network of polymer chains, as in the case of the conventional processes. The current research proposes conventional flat layer deposition, adaptive flat layer deposition and curved layer deposition for FDM. In particular for curved parts, curved layer deposition in expected to ensure fiber continuity and better meso-structure. Mathematical models are developed for curved slicing, practically implemented to print physical parts and test results suggest marked improvement in the mechanical characteristics of curved parts.