Development of a 3D printer and a supervision system towards the improvement of physical properties and surface finish of the printed parts

Additive manufacturing, unlike subtractive manufacturing, consist in the addition of material by layers, allowing to create objects with complex geometries, which would be complicated to realize using traditional manufacturing process. Even though the 3D printers are a great technological innovation, there are still challenges to overcome. Because material, time and energy required to fabricate an object are so valuable, it is desired to reproduce the intended geometry minimizing defects and material waste. This task result particularly difficult in open loop control strategies such as the ones in most printing systems. This work aims to improve the 3D printing process by proposing a supervision system that can close the control loop for the material output, reducing the printing defects produced by interruptions in the material flow, tangling of filaments and other problems that result in unwanted discontinuities. A more robust printing platform is also reported in which the supervision system will be implemented, aiming to provide a more reliable platform for research and testing working parameters, materials, etc. The paper concludes suggesting the tasks ahead to achieve the overall objective of improving the 3D printing process.