3 DPC
3 DPC
Samson Wilson, Rahul Thomas, Nimmi Mary, Eric Tom Bosco, Ajith
Gopinath*
*Email: ajith.gopinath@christuniversity.in
Abstract. The usage of 3d printing has been a widely applicable in various branches such as
aerospace, medical, food industry and recently even in construction of houses. As we can see
3d printing has become a revolutionary invention and is becoming very common in
manufacturing of various machining parts. So as we know there are various forms of 3d
printing technologies and each of them have their own advantages and disadvantages. One of
the main disadvantage is the quality of finishing on the 3d printed parts. Apart from this the
cost of 3d printing has als
o been one of the major disadvantage. The purpose of this projects
is to design and fabricate a 3d printer which would increase the quality of the parts
manufactured and also make it cost efficient. This quality product can be achieved by
decreasing the layer thickness. The other ways to increase quality of the product is fabricate
the 3d printer in such a way that the temperature of the nozzle is within the given range all
through the process. This project is expected to result in the fabrication of the 3d printer
considering all the above features.
Keywords: 3D printing, Aerospace, Manufacturing, Design, Fabrication
1. Introduction
Manufacturing of difficult parts has become a major issue in the industries. The accuracy and precision
of the parts made by the use of subtractive processes isn’t up to the level which company desires. Hence
to eradicate these difficulties additive manufacturing is introduced which helps in conversion of 3D
design models into actual physical objects. The author explains how the Fused Deposition Modelling
(FDM) cartesian co-ordinate based 3D printer should be designed and developed. PLA (Poly Lactic
Acid) is used in this project for the 3D printer be- cause of it’s often use. The 3D Modelling is done
using CATIA V5 R20 software is converted into STL (Stereo lithography) file. CURA software is used
to convert the STL file into G-codes which id then sent to PRONTERFACE software. The
PRONTERFACE software guides the instructions to the Cartesian coordinate based 3D printer and 3D
Modelled design are printed to physical part as a result [1].
3D printing is a method of non-traditional machining and a technique becoming popular nowadays.
Additive manufacturing is a way in which object by laying successive layers of material till the entire
object is made. There are many different kinds of 3D printers and they make use of different kind of
printing methods, technologies and also different kinds of materials. This paper explains in detail about
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Published under licence by IOP Publishing Ltd 1
International Conference on Innovations in Mechanical Sciences (ICIMS'21) IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Materials Science and Engineering 1132 (2021) 012019 doi:10.1088/1757-899X/1132/1/012019
5 different kind of 3D printers. They are: Stereolithography (SLA), Fused deposition modeling (FDM),
Selective Laser Sintering (SLS), Laminated object manufacturing (LOM) and Digital Light Processing
(DLP). The research paper gives a basic introduction to the concept of various 3D printers with their
advantages, limitation, and application and compares each of them to different standards such as
dimensional accuracy, surface finish, material used and post processing requirements [2]. Additive
manufacturing (AM) has been nowadays widely used in many industries like aerospace, automotive,
biomedical, and energy industries. Presently, with the quick growth of this technology, there are a huge
number of 3D printing approaches in the market. Each and every method has its own advantages,
disadvantages and applications. Materials used for printing too are divided into many groups such as
ceramics, metals, polymers, and cements. In this paper they discus on how to build a 3D printer based
Fused Deposition Modelling technique. They divide all the process involve in building of FDM based
3D printer into many steps and study on it. They also used Arduino Mega as a microcontroller in this
project [3]. 3D Printing or Additive manufacturing is an innovative method of manufacturing parts right
from CAD design model by using layer by layer material approach. This manufacturing technique can
produce fully condensed metallic parts in a very short time with high precision. The main features of
additive manufacturing are part complexity, part consolidation, freedom of part design and light
weighting are gathering specific interests in metal additive manufacturing for aerospace, oil and gas,
marine and automobile applications. Directed Energy Deposition and Powder Bed Fusion Technologies
are mainly used in mainly Metallic 3D printing. Powder bed fusion is a technique in which each powder
bed layer is carefully fused by using energy source like laser. This is the most auspicious additive
manufacturing technology that can be used for manufacturing small, complex and low volume metallic
parts. This review grants outline of 3D Printing technologies, applications, advantages, challenges,
disadvantages, materials and economics of 3D metal printing technology[4].
The research paper on 3D printing has become a distinguished topic in today’s technological
conversation. In the paper, author explains how a 3D printer works and discuss on additive
manufacturing or 3D printing. The paper explains of the advantages of 3D printing compared to
conventional methods of manufacturing. The author explains in detail about different application of 3D
printer and how it is affecting our life presently. It also clarifies how 3D printing has become an essential
part in various industries and the way in which solved many existing problems. Lastly the imminent
potential of 3D printing or additive manufacturing has been drawn by the author [5]. Fused Deposition
Modelling (FDM) is an Additive Manufacturing Method for printing 3D designed objects layer by layer
successively. The key objective of this research is to develop a low-cost 3D Printer using readily
accessible materials and traditional methods for fabrication which can be used to print the objects
confined in a 300 x 250 x 300 (in mm) printing space. According to the market survey done by the
authors, they arrived at an inference that 3D printers are available at a price about Rs.50,000 to Rs.60,000
in Indian market. Originally, they designed a 3D Printer entirely in 3D Modelling Software
SOLIDWORKS and studied each part and chose a readily available material suitably to develop a cost
effective 3D printer. The researchers have explained step by step on making a cost effective FDM 3D
printer[6]. This research paper is on various types of 3D printing and several materials used in 3D
printing. It also explains in detail about 3D printing and its significance in today’s world. Selective Laser
Sintering, Fused Deposition Modelling, Stereolithography and Laminated Object Manufacturing are
some of the several processes used in 3D printing explained in the research paper. It gives a detail
description on the concept and principle of each 3D printing process. It also elucidates on different types
of materials used in 3D printing process. They are: Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS), High Impact
Polystyrene (HIPS) and Poly Lactic Acid (PLA). It clarifies on the properties, advantages, limitation
and application of the several materials used in 3D printing [7].
The 3D printing technology is widely used in the current manufacturing industries. The 3D
printer although efficient has its disadvantages. It takes 4-12 hours to complete a work piece and almost
a day for printing a complex or a big shape. The paper talks about the methods proposed to improve the
overall speed and ac- curacy of the printer [8]. 3D printing usually works in a way that whatever the
feeding material, it will get printed. If the material needs to be changed, the whole filament needs to be
changed. The paper proposes to create new materials and designs like composites using fused fiber
deposition method by using a drop down platform which will allow the printing of new materials [9].
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International Conference on Innovations in Mechanical Sciences (ICIMS'21) IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Materials Science and Engineering 1132 (2021) 012019 doi:10.1088/1757-899X/1132/1/012019
The 3D printing technology has revolutionized the engineering industry and many other industries like
medical and construction industries. The paper depicts the different processes involved in the 3D printing
and the different types of options available in the market based on price, workspace, accuracy and speed.
The advantages and drawbacks are also mentioned [10]. The manufacture of small components, big
components, printed biological tissues etc. The 3D printer plays a huge role in the current manufacturing
industry. Yet there are some imperfections like structural defects and pore formation associated with it.
The paper talks about the methods to find such irregularities and to re- solve the problems with some
modifications [11]. The paper elaborates about the concept of 3D printing and the advantages of 3D
printing over conventional methods in the engineering field and other industries and how the end product
is superior to conventional methods like machining, casting. It also mentions the ways adopted to print
in low cost methods [12].
3. Apparatus
3.1. Process Selection
The next step is to decide which coordinates are supposed to move in which direction (X Axis, Y Axis,
Z Axis). This selection would depend on the same factors earlier considered such as cost, capacity etc.
After the mechanism is selected the next process is to choose the appropriate electronics, materials for
the fabrication and finally then synchronizing all the components together so that they work in tandem.
The FDM starts with a CAD Model where a required model to be manufactured is designed using a
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International Conference on Innovations in Mechanical Sciences (ICIMS'21) IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Materials Science and Engineering 1132 (2021) 012019 doi:10.1088/1757-899X/1132/1/012019
CAD designing software such as SolidWorks or CATIA. This model with the required dimensions is
converted into a STL file format. The designed model is then sent to slicing software’s such as CURA,
Astroprint, Craftprint etc. where the model is divided into small layers up to which the nozzle can print.
These layers decide the surface finish of the manufactured model. Lower the layer thickness better the
surface finish it will have. Now after all these processes the model is ready to be manufactured, the
manufacturing starts with a thermoplastic material in a loop is fed to the nozzle through a PTFE Tube.
THE hot end heats this thermoplastic material to a glass change temperature and then exits out through
the nozzle. The Thermos plastic material used in our 3d printer is PLA type filament.
3.3. Electronics
3.3.1. Controllers. The main part of the electronics list is the controller which is brain of the system, this
decides which and when the Axis’s should move depending upon the desired model. 44 This basically
controls all electronic components used in the 3d printer. The 3d printing technology uses Arduino
microcontroller as their basic choice of microcontrollers. In this project we have used Arduino Mega as
our choice of controller as it is easier to program the codes and also provide good response to the input
given.
3.3.2. Stepper Motor. The stepper motor plays a vital role in the working of thee 3d printer as it help in
the movement of the axis to required precision. The type of 3d printer we have used is a NEMA 17 type
of stepper motor. The main significance of a NEMA 17 stepper motor is that it provides more torque
than other variants of the NEMA stepper motor. The motor is selected depending upon the specifications
we need for the working of the 3d printer. For this project we have used 5 NEMA-17 stepper motor’s (1
for Y-Axis, 1 for X-Axis, 2 for Z-Axis and 1 for the extruder).Some of the specifications of the NEMA
17 are : - Rated Voltage = 12V DC - Current = 1.2A - Step angle = 1.8 degree - Holding Torque = 3.2
kg-cm
3.3.3. Endstops. The end stops we have used for this project is a mechanical type of end stop. The reason
we have used a mechanical type of end stops is because it is cheaper than other type of end stops such
as Optical end stops. The purpose of using an end stop is to define the maximum distance the axis are
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International Conference on Innovations in Mechanical Sciences (ICIMS'21) IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Materials Science and Engineering 1132 (2021) 012019 doi:10.1088/1757-899X/1132/1/012019
supposed to move. Once it touches the mechanical end stop it stops the movement of the motor. There
are other types of end stops such as read switches where the contact is cut off once a magnet is present
in front of it. The end stop is easy for connection as it requires only 2 wires that is to be connected at the
normally open and the Common points.
3.3.4. Heated Bed. One of the major disadvantage of using FDM type of 3d printer is warping. The use
of a heated bed reduces the formation of warping and improves quality of the model. The type of heated
bed we have used is an Mk2 heat bed, the heated bed comes with a thermistor which helps to distribute
the heat evenly throughout the heat bed. The temperature of the heat bed is around 110 degree-Celsius
which helps to create a rigid base for the model. The dimensions of the heat bed is 214x214mm which
will provide enough work area to create medium sized models. The heat bed can be used for the working
of various materials such as ABS, PLA. One of the major advantage of the heat bed is that it provides
heat throughout the model all through the process thereby not allowing warping to take place.
3.3.5. Hot end. A hot end is the part in the 3d printer which heats the filament (PLA) and pushes it to
the nozzle. The temperature of the hot end is around 230 degree-Celsius and also contains a 100k
thermistor which can be used for high temperature performance. It comes with a cooling fan which helps
to maintain the temperature throughout the process. The nozzle 47 present in the hot end has a diameter
of 0.4 mm which also contributes to the accuracy and surface finish of the product. This hot end is
capable of working with materials such as PLA, ABS and PETG. There is a heat sink present behind the
hot end for the excess heat to escape to the environment.
3.3.6. Stepper Motor Driver. Stepper motor drives are small components which act as a medium of
communication between the Arduino controller and the stepper motor. The signal for the stepper motors
are given by the motor drive. There are 4 motor drives (1 for X-Axis, 1 for Y-Axis, 1 for Z-Axis and
finally 1 for the extruder) these motor drives are connected to the Ramps. A heat sink is stuck to the top
of the stepper motor drives so that the heat emitted from the drives can escape to the environment and
thereby not damage the circuit board.
3.3.7. Power Supply. The power required for the working of the 3d printer is provided by using an
external power supply which provides a voltage of 12V and current of 30A. The Normal AC Power
supply of 220 V cannot be used to power the 3D printer as it will damage the circuit board, hence an
external power supply is used.
3.4. Mechanical
3.4.1. Timing belt. A Timing Belt is a belt containing teeths which mesh with the teeths of the pulley.
The main purpose of a timing belt is to provide a linear motion which converted by using a rotational
movement of the pulley. Each tooth of the timing belt should match with the tooth of the pulley otherwise
this may cause slipping of the belt leading inaccuracies. The belt we have used has a Pitch of 2mm,
width of 6mm and a length of 2m which is sufficient for the movement of the Y-axis and X –axis.
3.4.2. Pulley. A Pulley is a disc like structure which helps to convert the rotary motion into a linear
motion. They are used usually to carry heavy loads making them easier to lift. The pulley consists of
teeth’s which mesh with the the teeths of the timing belt thereby avoiding slippage. The bore diameter
of the pulley is 5mm having 20 teeths.
3.4.3. Lead screw. Lead screw are long rods which have threaded pitch all through the rod. The Z-axis
movement for the 3D printer works with the help of this lead screws. They provide uniform motion on
both sides of the Z-axis. The lead screw we have used has a diameter of 8mm,length of 300mm and a
pitch of 2mm. The material of the lead screw is stainless steel.
3.4.4. Smooth shaft. Smooth shafts are used for the smooth movement of the X and Y axis, they provide
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International Conference on Innovations in Mechanical Sciences (ICIMS'21) IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Materials Science and Engineering 1132 (2021) 012019 doi:10.1088/1757-899X/1132/1/012019
the linear motion. The smooth shaft we have used has a diameter of 8mm, length of 400mm and the
material is made up of mild steel.
3.4.5. Linear bearings/Radial bearings. Linear bearings are bearings which are meant to slide along the
shaft. The bearings we have used have a Bore diameter of 8mm and an outter diameter of 15mm.these
bearings consists of lubrication inside providing lesser friction with the surface of the rod. The radial
bearing unlike linear bearing reduces rotational friction and also help in radial and axial loads. The
bearings we have used have a diameter of 8mm and the dimensions are 8mm*22mm*7mm.
3.4.6. PLA Filament. There are many filament materials which could be used but we have used PLA
filament. The reason for using PLA filament is that it has many significance than other materials. Some
of these significance are they are easier to print as they can flow through the nozzle easily. Also the
printing temperature of PLA is much lower making it convenient to print. The surface finish offered by
PLA filament is better compared to other materials such as ABS. Other materials find it difficult to do
the after processing while it is easier in the case of PLA filament. They are also considered to be
environmentally friendly making them Biodegradable and also less toxic than other materials.
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International Conference on Innovations in Mechanical Sciences (ICIMS'21) IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Materials Science and Engineering 1132 (2021) 012019 doi:10.1088/1757-899X/1132/1/012019
Pronterface were used to avoid expensive cost. Creality 3D Ender is a 3D Printer which has a Build
Volume of 220 x 220 x 250 mm cost Rs 21,000 and is one of the cheap 3D printer currently available in
the market. We have built the FDM Printer which works with maximum efficiency and minimum budget.
We have used Arduino Mega 2560 and Ramps 1.4 as the microcontroller. Our project cost atmost Rs.
12200 which is even Rs 7000 less than the product present on the market. This result helps us in
achieving our 1st prioritized objective of fabricating a low cost 3D printer. The part which was printed
in the 3D printer was compared to a high cost 3D printer and checked for its surface quality. We were
able to see an accuracy similar to the one of the high cost 3D printer hence satisfying our objective of
achieving good surface finish and dimensional accuracy. It was also observed that there was no cases of
warping leading to uneven edges while printing the parts.
Controllers –
PLA filament Arduino Mega
Timing Belt
Lead Screws(2)
Heated Bed
NEMA 17 stepper
motor Hot End
The fabricated fused deposition modeling 3D printer is shown in the figure 2. All the components are
labelled for the easy identification. The total cost incurred for the project has been mentioned in detail
in the table1. Table 1 shows the cost effectiveness of the 3D printer manufactured. If taken up in a large
scale the cost can be further reduced and 3D printers will then be a regular household equipment.
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International Conference on Innovations in Mechanical Sciences (ICIMS'21) IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Materials Science and Engineering 1132 (2021) 012019 doi:10.1088/1757-899X/1132/1/012019
Specification
Build Volume 200mm x 200mm x 150mm
Method Fused Deposition Modelling
No. of Extruders 1
Power Supply DC 12V 30A
Connectivity USB
Filament Diameter 1.75mm
Nozzle Diameter 0.4mm
Filament Material PLA
Print File Type STL, G-Code
Machine Size 450mm x 530mm x 430mm
Machine Weight 5kg
5. Conclusion
A Cost Effective 3d printer was developed and fabricated. 3mm thickness aluminum frames were
assembled together using multiple bolts and nuts for the fabrication of the 3d printer. The softwares used
for the development of the 3d printer are Arduino software, CATIA for the creation of the 3d MODEL,
SLIC3R software for slicing the CAD models in various layers, Pronterface for calibration and execution
of the 3D printer to print the models. The Build Volume of the 3D printer is 200mm*200mm*150mm.
The number of extruders used in this 3D printer is one. The machine size is around
450mm*530mm*430mm and weighs around 5 Kg. As the 3D Printer is light weight, it is portable and
easy to handle. The 3d model was printed and compared to 3D objects printed on a High Cost 3D printer.
The cost Effective 3d printer can be used in small scale industries and can even be used in household for
various educational purposes. The nozzle of diameter 0.4mm used in the fabrication of this 3D printer
gives it more dimensional accuracy. The printing material used in the 3D printer is PLA as it provides
better strength and operates at higher temperature. The cost effectiveness makes the 3D printer
affordable and desirable to more customers. In the era of additive manufacturing advancements a cost
effective, affordable and efficient 3D printer can pave way for new opportunities and even the ordinary
people could reap the benefits of the same.
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International Conference on Innovations in Mechanical Sciences (ICIMS'21) IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Materials Science and Engineering 1132 (2021) 012019 doi:10.1088/1757-899X/1132/1/012019
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