MF3’s new ‘toolpath strategy’ makes it possible to “concurrently print multiple, geometrically distinct, non-contiguous parts of varying sizes” using a single printer, wrote the researchers, in their study.Ĭleeman said that he sees numerous benefits to this technology. Rutgers researchers wrote slicer software that optimized the gantry arm’s movement and determined when the nozzles should be turned on and off to achieve the highest efficiency. To program a 3D printer, engineers use a software tool called a slicer – computer code that maps an object into the virtual ‘slices’, or layers, that will be printed. By contrast, smaller nozzles deposit material with greater resolution, but current methods with conventional software are too slow to be cost-effective.Īt the heart of MF3’s innovation is its software. Larger-diameter nozzles are faster than smaller ones but generate more ridges and contours that must be smoothed out later, adding significant post-production costs. “We have more tests to run to understand the strength and geometric potential of the parts we can make, but as long as those elements are there, we believe this could be a game changer for the industry,” said Jeremy Cleeman, a graduate student researcher at the Rutgers School of Engineering and the lead author of the study.Īccording to Rutgers, the 3D printing industry has struggled with what is known as the throughput-resolution tradeoff – the speed at which 3D printers deposit material versus the resolution of the finished product. By programming their prototype to move in efficient patterns, and by using a series of small nozzles – rather than a single large nozzle, as is common in conventional printing – to deposit molten material, the researchers were able to increase printing resolution and size as well as significantly decrease printing time. The new approach, called Multiplexed Fused Filament Fabrication (MF3), uses a single gantry, the sliding structure on a 3D printer, to print individual or multiple parts simultaneously. Researchers at Rutgers School of Engineering have created a way to 3D print large and complex parts at a fraction of the cost of current methods.
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