By far the most common extrusion-based AM technology is fused deposition modeling (FDM), produced and developed by Stratasys, USA [7]. FDM uses a heating chamber to liquefy polymer that is fed into the system as a filament. The
filament is pushed into the chamber by a tractor wheel arrangement and it is this pushing that generates the extrusion pressure. A typical FDM machine can be seen in Fig.6.6, along with a picture of an extrusion head.
The initial FDM patent was awarded to Stratasys founder Scott Crump in 1992 and the company has gone from strength to strength to the point where there are more FDM machines than any other AM machine type in the world. The major strength of FDM is in the range of materials and the effective mechanical properties of resulting parts made using this technology. Parts made using FDM are among the strongest for any polymer-based additive manufacturing process.
The main drawback to using this technology is the build speed. As mentioned earlier, the inertia of the plotting heads means that the maximum speeds and accelerations that can be obtained are somewhat smaller than other systems.
Furthermore, FDM requires material to be plotted in a point-wise, vector fashion that involves many changes in direction.
6.4.1 FDM Machine Types
The Stratasys FDM machine range is very wide, from low-cost, small-scale, minimal variable machines through to larger, more versatile, and more sophisti- cated machines that are inevitably more expensive. The company has separated its operations into subsidiaries, each dedicated to different extents of the FDM technology.
The first subsidiary, Dimension, focuses on the low-cost machines currently starting around $10,000 USD. Each Dimension machine can only process a limited range of materials, with only a few user-controllable parameter options. The Mojo machine is currently the smallest and lowest costing machine, with a maximum part size of 500500500. It has only one layer thickness setting and only one build Fig. 6.6 Typical Stratasys machine showing the outside and the extrusion head inside (courtesy of Stratasys)
6.4 Fused Deposition Modeling from Stratasys 161
material, with a soluble support system. There are two further machines that are slightly more expensive, with the uPrint going upwards in size to 100010001200 with different layer thickness settings (0.25 and 0.33 mm) and ABS materials available in multiple colors. More expensive variations use the soluble support material while less expensive machines use a single deposition head and breakaway supports. Finer detail parts can be made using the Elite machine, which has a minimum layer thickness of 0.178 mm. All these machines are designed to operate with minimal setup, variation, and intervention. They can be located without special attention to fume extraction and other environmental conditions. This means they can easily be placed in a design office rather than resorting to placing them in a machine shop. Purchasers of Dimension machines would be expected to use them in much the same way as they would an expensive 2D printer.
While Dimension FDM machines can be used for making parts for a wide variety of applications, most parts are likely to be used as concept models by companies investigating the early stages of product development. More demanding applications, like for models for final product approval, functional testing models, and models for direct digital manufacturing, would perhaps require machines that are more versatile, with more control over the settings, more material choices and options that enable the user to correct minor problems in the output model. Higher specification FDM machines are more expensive, not just because of the incorporated technology and increased range of materials, but also because of the sales support, maintenance, and reliability. Stratasys has separated this higher-end technology through the subsidiary named FORTUS, with top-of-the-range models costing around $400,000 USD. The smaller FORTUS 200mc machine starts off roughly where the Dimension machines end, with a slightly smaller build envelope of 8008001200and a similar specification. Further up the range are machines with increases in size, accuracy, range of materials, and range of build speeds. The largest and most sophisticated machine is the FORTUS 900mc, which has the highest accuracy of all Stratasys FDM machines with a layer thickness of 0.076 mm. The build envelope is an impressive 360024003600and there are at least seven different material options.
It should be noted that FDM machines that operate with different layer thicknesses do so because of the use of different nozzle diameters. These nozzles are manually changeable and only one nozzle can be used during a specific build.
The nozzle diameter also controls the road width. Obviously, a larger diameter nozzle can extrude more material for a specific plotting speed and thus shorten the build time at the expense of lower precision.
FORTUS software options include the expected file preparation and build setup options. However, there are also software systems that allow the user to remotely monitor the build and schedule builds using a multiple machine setup. Stratasys has many customers who have purchased more than one machine and their software is aimed at ensuring these customers can operate them with a minimum of user intervention. Much of this support was developed because of another Stratasys subsidiary called Redeye, who use a large number of FDM machines as a service bureau for customers. Much of the operation of Redeye is based on customers
logging in to an Internet account and uploading STL files. Parts are scheduled for building and sent back to the customer within a few days, depending on part size, amount of finishing required, and order size.
Stratasys also recognizes that many parts coming off their machines will not be immediately suitable for the final application and that there may be an amount of finishing required. To assist in this, Stratasys provides a range of finishing stations that are designed to be compatible with various FDM materials. Finishing can be a mixture of chemically induced smoothing (using solvents that lightly melt the part surface) or burnishing using sodium bicarbonate as a light abrasive cleaning compound. Also, although there is a range of different material colors for the ABS build material, many applications require the application of primers and coatings to achieve the right color and finish on a part.