Developement of 3D printer for silicate-based materials

Abstract

3D printer and 3D printing technology are now considered as one of the key factor in the manufacturing industry. In the near future, we could envisage different application of 3D printing method in the sector of materials processing and production. In the sector of civil engineering, they existed somewhere some construction works developed with 3D printing technology.  In this study, we aim to manufacture laboratory-scale printers with nozzles and extrusion feeding systems suitable for paste such as the case of clay-based materials of silicate industry. The movement system was encoded and controlled via the motherboard (Mach 3 controller software). Stepper motors and shaft drives were also implemented in the frame element of such printer. The feeding system was designed based on the extrusion method including cylinder and piston element. Based on that, sample size 200x300x300mm was available for operation testing. Concerning the performance of the instrument, we have obtained printed specimens with different geometric shapes with complexity. From the obtained result, we also discussion on the feasibility up scaling the study and developing a 3D printer for silicate based materials.