Influence of Nozzle Parameters in 3D Printing Under the Manufacturing Time

Abstract

Abstract Actually, the Fused Deposition Modelling is one of the most popular Additive Manufacturing technology among ordinary users because of the low-cost equipment and the great variety of materials available on the market. Even many users mostly use it, not all of them are adopting the advanced parameterisation of the processes, preferring default set-up with a small interference over the basic parameters such as layer height, number of perimeters, and infill. Regarding the nozzle diameter, several advantages and disadvantages are implied by the relation of printing time-surface finish. Usage of large-diameter nozzles present advantages such as reduced manufacturing time, low risk of clogged nozzle, and more. Those cause worse resolution for small features and support structures to be more challenging to remove. By adjusting the nozzle parameters such as extrusion width and extrusion temperature, it was possible to obtain similar effects with a regular nozzle. This research’s main goal was to investigate if there is imperative the usage of larger-diameter nozzles for speeding up the manufacturing process, or the same effect can be achieved by using nozzles with a smaller diameter. In the end, we managed to reduce the manufacturing time to half compared to the initial time.