Continuous Fiber Thermoset 3D Printer – Material Delivery System

2024 ME

The objective of this project is to design, prototype, and test a material delivery system for a continuous fiber composite 3D printer.

Team Members

William Gustafson | Michael Kohl | Mitchel Magraw | Joseph Wargo |

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Project Summary

Overview

This project, sponsored by Aseman LLC, aims to develop a material delivery system for a continuous-fiber composite 3D printer, to produce custom medical devices with enhanced structural strength and thermal resilience.

Objectives

  • Design must be compatible with pre-existing printer assembly, with limited modifications
  • Design must effectively infuse fibers with epoxy resin thermoset and deliver to heated bed
  • Design must be able to cut fibers with minimal fraying for different sizes and types of fibers, as well as account for any direction of laid fiber
  • Design must allow for controllable curing according to delivery speed and fiber/resin type
  • Design must include limited disassembly for ease of cleaning and maintenance

Approach

  • Conducted a customer needs analysis to identify priorities of system design
  • Identified technical challenges, and researched similar methods of composite delivery
  • Generated concepts for subsystems including fiber impregnation, material extrusion, cutting, curing, and cleaning
  • Preformed preliminary feasibility experimentation to achieve better knowledge base of concepts
  • Utilized decision matrices to choose final subsystem designs, based off of criteria such as manufacturability, versatility, and repeatability
  • Refined functional model and decided upon order of system operation
  • CAD modelling of all subsystems: Fiber/Delivery Extrusion, Heat Gun Curing, Laser Module Manipulation, and Laser Module Curing
  • Ensured component insulation provides sufficient mitigation of heat during operation
  • Collaborated with Behrend machine shop to produce parts
  • Produced bill of materials to evaluate price of system components, as well as organize parts

Outcomes

  • All subsystems were successfully assembled onto X-Y gantry
  • Pre-cure of resin is not a controlled quality so curing profile is to be experimentally determined
  • Intake fan speed, heating element temperature, extrusion speed are all adjustable, such that proper experimentation can occur.
  • Design allows for easy cleaning and interchange of all components that encounter resin.