Analysis and Development of the Fused Layer Manufacturing Process using Industrial Robots

Conventional Fused Layer Manufacturing (FLM) systems are equipped with motion devices offering three degrees of freedom, which limit their kinematic flexibility. Subsequent to the description of current FLM process approaches guided by six-axis robot manipulators, this paper identifies and analyses the process-specific kinematic influence factors and describes the potential production advantages. It proposes a test station to execute feasibility tests in order to evaluate specific process challenges by varying the orientation of the extrusion axis. Modelled test specimens prove the general applicability and serve as a basis for further specified development steps of the robot-based FLM approach.