Feasibility Study on 3D Printed Patterns in Casting - IJETAE

International Journal of Emerging Technology and Advanced Engineering Website: www.ijetae.com (ISSN 2250-2459, ISO 9001:2008 Certified Journal, Volume 5, Issue 6, June 2015)

Feasibility Study on 3D Printed Patterns in Casting Vinay Pramod1, Abhijith Baiju2, Akkash Babuji3, Rijo Plathanam4, Aby K Abraham5 1,2,3,4

Graduate Scholar, Gurudeva Institute of Science and Technology, Kottayam, Kerala, India Assistant Professor, Gurudeva Institute of Science and Technology, Kottayam, Kerala, India

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Amongst the latest developed technology to take the industry by storm is Rapid Prototyping. Otherwise known as solid freeform fabrication or layer manufacturing technologies, these technologies provide the bridge between product conceptualization and product realization in a fast and accurate manner with ease. Rapid prototyping technologies makes use of various engineering, computer and software techniques, such as mechatronic systems, powder metallurgy, material extrusion and deposition, optical engineering etc., to create a physical model directly by the layer by layer material addition in accordance with geometrical data developed from the corresponding 3D CAD models. In this scenario, it is important to study the possibility of utilizing such technologies into numerous fields of manufacturing. The use of rapid prototyping processes in the field of metal casting has been examined in many papers. One such process found suitable is fused deposition modeling. This paper examines the feasibility of using 3D printed patterns developed through fused deposition modeling in metal casting operations.

Abstract— The immense competition in markets has led to many fundamental changes in the various manufacturing processes. To bring products to the market as fast as possible, many of the processes in the designing manufacturing and marketing of the products have been shortened, both in terms of time and material resources. Among these latest technologies comes Rapid Prototyping Technologies. With various advantages over conventional manufacturing processes, mainly reduced production time, low material wastage and minimal testing, the technology is widely being adopted by many world class manufacturers. The aim of this paper was to determine experimentally the feasibility of 3D printed patterns in casting processes. For this purpose, two castings were inspected under a scanning electron microscope. The results obtained were satisfactory enough to conclude that 3d printed patterns are feasible for their application in the field of casting. Keywords— Castings, Feasibility study, Fused Deposition modelling, Rapid prototyping, 3D Printing

I. INTRODUCTION The competition in the world market for manufactured products has intensified tremendously in recent years. To increase productivity, it has become vital for new products to reach the market as fast as possible, before they are introduced by competitors. To do so, many of the processes such as designing, testing, manufacturing and marketing of the products have been optimized, both in terms of time and material resources. The efficient and economic use of these valuable resources demands new tools and technologies to deal with them. As a result, many such technological advances have evolved, with most of them involving profound use of the computer. Industries have constantly attempted to apply such computerized automation in every aspect of manufacturing. Operations involved in a factory, from designing of the product to its complete manufacturing is monitored and regulated by computers mainly through computer- aided design and manufacturing technologies. Until the late 1970s, it has been extremely difficult to derive physical prototypes, even with the presence of computer numerical controlled machine Tools.

II. FUSED DEPOSITION MODELING Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) process works by the layer by layer deposition of threads of molten polymeric material under computer control. The technology was first developed by Scott Cramp in 1988 and the patent was awarded in the U.S [1]. The principle of the FDM is based on surface chemistry, layer manufacturing etc. In this process, an extrusion head moves along the X-Y plane depositing molten polymer through a nozzle. The build material is heated slightly above its glass transition temperature, so that it solidifies rapidly after exiting the nozzle after extrusion. Various factors such as steady nozzle, extrusion rates, need of support structures etc. needs to be considered, as they greatly influence slice thickness and model geometry. Some FDM systems have two nozzles, one to extrude material for part production and the other for supports. The support material is generally of low quality and can be removed easily once the part is completed and removed from substrate.

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International Journal of Emerging Technology and Advanced Engineering Website: www.ijetae.com (ISSN 2250-2459, ISO 9001:2008 Certified Journal, Volume 5, Issue 6, June 2015) Water soluble support structure materials are the most commonly used support materials. The FDM process is relatively simple, as compared to the other RP processes [2]. An extensive feasibility study conducted by Pranjal Jain [3] concluded that RP pattern made through FDM processes can be used in sand casting especially when pattern making is troublesome. Initially, a geometric model of a conceptual design is created on CAD software which uses IGES or STL formatted files. The CAD file is sliced horizontally into layers once the part is oriented for the optimum build position. Any necessary support structures are detected automatically and generated accordingly by the slicer software. A plastic filament is supplied into an extrusion nozzle which moves over the build table in the required geometry and deposits thin strands of extruded plastic to form layers of the required geometry. Since the air surrounding the head is at a temperature below the material’s melting point, the exiting material quickly solidifies. Moving along the plane, the head follows the tool path generated by the slicer software. Most commonly used build materials are polymers such as Poly-Lactic Acid [PLA] and Acrylo Butadiene Styrene [ABS].

Fig. 1: 3D Printed test pattern

A cylindrical pattern shown in fig. 1 was chosen as the test pattern. This pattern offers simplicity during casting and requires no support structures for printing. A similar pattern was made using wood, in order to compare results with conventional method. Both were used as patterns to create a mold cavity. Bronze was used to cast the parts. It was chosen since it is one of the most commonly used alloys in casting.

III. METHODOLOGY The recent development of the RepRap, an open-source self-replicating rapid prototyper, has made 3-D polymerbased printers readily available at low costs [4]. This paper work used an open source 3D Printer, Woodmax i3 developed on the base of RepRap Prusa i3 [2]. The printer works with a single extruder head and is capable of operating with PLA and ABS polymers. PLA was chosen as the build material since its mechanical properties are better than ABS. also, unlike ABS, PLA filaments does not absorb water molecules from the surrounding atmosphere. Hence the properties of PLA remain stable over a period of time. Fig. 2: Casted test specimen

One of the casted specimens is shown in fig. 2. Samples were taken from the top side of these specimens to examine their surface profiles under a scanning electron microscope. Samples were examined under various magnifications.

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International Journal of Emerging Technology and Advanced Engineering Website: www.ijetae.com (ISSN 2250-2459, ISO 9001:2008 Certified Journal, Volume 5, Issue 6, June 2015)

Fig. 3: Surface profiles obtained under SEM at 250 magnifications for specimens made using (a)3D printed pattern (b) Wooden

Fig. 4: Surface profiles obtained under SEM at 1000 magnifications for specimens made using (a) 3D printed pattern (b) Wooden

IV. RESULTS

V. CONCLUSIONS

The results obtained under the scanning electron microscope are shown in fig 3 and 4. Fig 3 shows the surface profile at 250 magnification factor. The images show a clear difference between the two specimens. The surface of the casted specimen made using the 3d printed pattern is more uniform than the other specimen. The surface profile of the casted part made using wooden pattern appears more distorted and non-uniform. The irregularities are clearer at higher magnifications. Fig. 4 shows the surface profile at a magnification of 1000 with a resolution of 10µm. The images also show the unevenness the surface of the conventionally casted part. For the part made using the 3D printed pattern, the surface appears more even, with less number of uneven scales on it. These results are conclusive enough to suggest that 3D printed patterns are feasible in common casting operations.

Additive manufacturing is a fast growing branch in manufacturing. It is one branch that has adapted suitably to the technological improvements, thanks to the highest possible degree of design freedom. With manufacturing branches adopting the various additive manufacturing processes to meet their requirements, it is of importance to determine the feasibility of these processes. This paper explored the feasibility of using 3D printed patterns in common casting operations. For the experimental evaluation, two patterns were used. One was made using conventional patterns and the other using 3D printed patterns through experimental studies, it was seen that both the specimen surfaces exhibited nearly similar surface finishes, with the part made using 3D printed patterns showing slightly better finish.

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International Journal of Emerging Technology and Advanced Engineering Website: www.ijetae.com (ISSN 2250-2459, ISO 9001:2008 Certified Journal, Volume 5, Issue 6, June 2015) [6]

Ingole, D.S. Kuthe, A.M., Thakre, S. B., Takankar; A.S. 2009. Rapid Prototyping – A technology transfer approach for development of rapid tooling. Rapid Prototyping Journal, 15, 4, 280 – 290. [7] Gibson I, Rosen DW, Stucker B. Additive manufacturing technologies: rapid prototyping to direct digital manufacturing. New York: Springer; 2010. [8] Petrovic V, Gonzalez JVH, Ferrando OJ, Gordillo JD, Puchades JRB, Griñan LP. Additive layered manufacturing: sectors of industrial application shown through case studies. Int J Prod Res 2011;49(4):1061–79. [9] Bellini A, Güçeri S. Mechanical characterization of parts fabricated using fused deposition modeling. Rapid Prototyp J 2003;9(4):252– 64. [10] Kai CC, Fai LK. Rapid Prototyping: Principles and Applications in Manufacturing. Asia: John Wiley and Sons Pte. Ltd 1997. [11] Ravi; B. 2000. CAD/CAM Revolution for Small and Medium Foundries. 48th Indian Foundry Congress, Coimbatore. [12] Sugavaneswaran M, Arumaikkannu G. Modelling for randomly oriented multi material additive manufacturing component and its fabrication, Materials & Design. 2014;54:779–85.

Hence it can be concluded that 3D printed patterns have a wide scope in pattern making, especially for complex designs. Detailed studies are essential, especially in determining the mechanical strength and durability of plastic 3D printed patterns. REFERENCES [1]

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