Development and evaluation of a multi-axis robotic 3D printing system for large-scale polymer manufacturing

Efficient large-scale 3D printing of complex structures is essential for fast growth in industrial 3D printing applications. Although robotic 3D printing is promising for large-scale 3D printing of complex geometries, pushing the manufacturing scale by increasing the robot size alone can lead to additional costs, while in many cases, it cannot be used because of its technical challenges. The objective of the present research is to develop a kinematically redundant robotic system for 3D printing of large-scale polymer structures, overcoming some of the technical and cost challenges associated with merely up-scaling the robot size. Several critical aspects in large-scale additive manufacturing, including developing a robotic 3D printing system with an industrial extruder and large workspace, tool path generation, extruder control, process parameters study, and thermal analysis, are discussed in detail. Additionally, a Grasshopper-based slicer is developed for toolpath generation, and an angled slicing strategy is implemented for 3D printing hollow structures. Moreover, a complete parameter study is carried out, which can be used to improve slicing algorithms and the geometrical accuracy of printed components. The outcome of this research can be used for 3D printing of large-scale structures, especially those with significant dimensions in one direction, such as molds for wind turbine blades, boats, and other hollow structures.