Testing and process optimization for a 3D printer and filament materials

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Revolution 3D Printers is a Canadian company based in Sidney, BC who is a developer of cost-effective 3D printers. Their printers are based on the FFF technology. Figure 1 shows the Infinity 3D model that is currently on the market. They have developed all metal extruders (AME) for high quality printing in the given price range. The extruder design allows for high temperature range, easy and quick filament changes, multiple nozzle sizes, multiple materials and colors, and so on. As Revolution 3D Printers emerge as a leader of the low-cost 3D printer market and the consumer interests and market size grow, performance testing and characterization will be important for proper evaluation and product quality improvement. However, industrial standards for testing the quality of a 3D printer are still lacking. Also, significant research still needs to be conducted to optimize the process parameters. In addition, as new innovative materials are rapidly coming out in the form of filaments for 3D printing, there has to be procedures to test the performance of the new material, optimize the process parameters for the material, and evaluate properties of the printed parts. There is limited data for this kind of information, and Revolution 3D Printers aims to develop a database for a wide range of materials. Therefore, the objective of this proposal is to develop procedures for performance testing, optimize process parameters, and build a database for a number of filament materials.