Sizing & design of A 5-AXIS 3D FDM based printer

Abstract

In recent years 3D printers has become extremely popular. Even though 3D printing technology have existed since the 1980’s, it is now considered one of the most significant technological breakthroughs of the twenty-first century. Several different 3D printing processes have been invented during the years. The fused deposition modeling (FDM) was one of the first invented technologies and it is considered the most popular today. Even though, the FDM process still suffers from some issues. This thesis looks at the possibility of overcoming the support structure problem by using a 5-axes system. The 5-axes system has the usual 3 axes, X, Y, and Z, plus two extra rotational axes. The study consists of sizing the various components of the 5-axes 3D printer, and the design is made by using SolidWorks software. The design is made in response for the different specification given in the scope statement, and also to keep the printer price under a given budget.