Additive manufacturing (AM) is a process that makes parts by depositing and/or consolidating material layer by layer. By leveraging design freedom, eliminating the need of fabrication tooling, reducing material waste and shortening the supply chain, AM can be a game-changing technology for the manufacturing industry, especially for those sectors that require significant product customization.

Among the different processes and materials available, the fuse deposition modelling (FDM) of continuous fibre-reinforced thermoplastics (CFRT) appears to be one of the most promising AM solutions to date, as it combines the easy processability of non-metallic materials with the significant strength of polymer matrix composites.

In this context, the present paper investigates the potentialities of FDM-CFRT for the realization of mechanisms subjected to predominant inertial load such as those found in packaging machinery. As a case study a Stephenson six-bar linkage powered in direct drive by a permanent magnet synchronous motor is considered. Starting from an existing mechanism realized in aluminium alloy with traditional subtractive processes, a newer version has been conceived by keeping the kinematics fixed and by redesigning the links via three-dimensional topology optimization, and then manufactured via FDM-CFRT.

Comparison of the two versions of the mechanism highlights the superior performances of the one manufactured via FDM-CFRT in terms of mass and volume utilization, maximum stress during operation and motor torque requirements.


Additively Manufactured Continuous Fibre-Reinforced Thermoplastics for Mechanisms Subjected to Predominant Inertial Load: A Case Study

Division / Sponsors: 
Aerospace Division

Paper Proceedings: https://asmedigitalcollection.asme.org/SMASIS/SMASIS2020/volume/84027

SMASIS2020 - Virtual Conference

Supporting the need among researchers worldwide for additional online and multimedia content, ASME now offers the ASME Conference Video Collection. This platform will collect and provide long-term access to conference presentation videos, encompassing all technology areas within ASME's technical conference and events program. About 30,000-40,000 engineers across all mechanical engineering and related disciplines participate in ASME conferences each year. This includes authors of approximately 6,000 to 8,000 technical papers published by ASME, the majority of whom also submit video presentations for our virtual conferences. The video collection will be available as an add-on to existing product packages or as a separate subscription.