Temperature Analyses in Fused Filament Fabrication: From Filament Entering the Hot-End to the Printed Parts
Jie Zhang, Eglé Vasiliauskaite, Alec De Kuyper, Cédric De Schryver, Frederik Vogeler, Frederik Desplentere, Eleonora Ferraris
Abstract
This article analyzes temperature fields and their variations in fused filament fabrication (FFF) from the filament entering the hot-end to the printed parts, aiming at a deeper understanding of the thermal process of this additive manufacturing technology. A standard E3D print head assembly was mounted on a robot arm for printing. A stable filament feeding region was determined with an upper limit in the volume flow rate at different nozzle temperatures. Within the limit, the steady-state temperature fields inside the hot-end were studied by a computational fluid dynamics model. Simulations indicated that the temperature became less homogeneous at higher flow rates, leading to a lower extrudate temperature at the nozzle outlet. These outlet temperatures were analyzed, validated, and used as input to simulate temperature variations in printed parts with a self-developed open-access numerical model. An interlayer time similarity rule was found in printing single-walled geometries, which specifies temperature similarities at the same interlayer time. The findings provide new insights into FFF processes, pointing out opportunities for improved production efficiency and scalability to large-scale manufacturing.