Colloquia

Summary

A multi-axis approach to additive manufacturing breaks the paradigm of planar 3D printing, enabling support-free printing of overhanging geometry, improved surface finish of oblique surfaces, and controlled mechanical anisotropy. These advancements yield reduced material and labor waste by eliminating the need for sacrificial support structures, through diminished physical material usage and circumvention of labor-intensive post-processing. Furthermore, the overall quality of parts is elevated, mitigating aliasing in shallow-angle surfaces inherent to the stratification of discrete layers.

Despite its potential, the widespread adoption of this technology faces hurdles in the domains of software and mechanical design. Adding degrees of freedom necessitates more complex path-planning algorithms and an accurate kinematic system. In order to harness the benefits of multi-axis additive manufacturing and ensure their practical implementation, it is crucial to make this technology accessible to a wider audience, particularly considering the significant contributions and limited resources of citizen-scientists within the 3D printing community. 

Therefore, this thesis investigates the accessibility of multi-axis additive manufacturing technology through the development and validation of an open-design, self-replicating, low-cost retrofit for consumer-grade desktop 3D printers. To maximize build volume and kinematic accuracy, a 2-axis print-head was designed. Path-planning algorithms were developed and implemented to successfully print sample parts, showcasing the printer's ability to overcome the limitations of conventional printers while avoiding new drawbacks. The sample parts encompassed various geometries and sizes, serving as evidence of the printer's capability to produce intricate, large-scale components with unsupported overhanging features and smooth oblique surfaces. The surface quality and accuracy of the parts were evaluated in comparison to equivalent parts printed using a typical 3-axis process. 

The work intends to generate interest in multi-axis additive manufacturing within the vast citizen-scientist community of 3D printing, to accelerate further development in the field.