3D Printing with Robotic Arm USING A ROBOTIC ARM TO CREATE MORE SOPHISTICATED 3D PRINTS European Project Semester Authors: Autumn Semester 2017 Job Trommelen Juan Carlos García Novia University of Applied Sciences Luc Richters Vaasa, Finland Poonam Khatti 04.09.17– 21.12.17 Project Coach: Rayko Toshev Date: 15.12.2017, Vaasa Supervisor: Rayko Toshev Acknowledgements Acknowledgements to NOVIA UAS for this wonderful opportunity offered, in which we have improved both academically and personally. Special thanks to: Roger Nylund for his guidance during the project. Rayko Toshev and Mika Billing for their expertise, explanations, tips and ideas concerning the ABB Robot for 3D printing. Hanna Latva (English Teacher) for giving us tips on academic writing and presentation delivering skills. Our EPS fellows and other Erasmus students for sharing all these experiences with us and making our time here better and funnier. Thanks to all! i Abstract The development of 3D printers over the last 10 years has been amazing and now it is possible to make your own printer with 50% of the parts printed on another machine. That brought the cost down several times. But current machines are limited by volume. One way to overcome that constraint is to use a robotic arm. Robotic manipulation and 3D printing are closely related, but they have remained mostly separate until now. The aim of this project is to join 3D printing and robotics together, to make 3D printing more flexible and to remove limits. To make it possible, in this project the following main aspects have been developed: designing and 3D printing the extruder’s housing and filament guidance system, mounting the created part onto the robotic arm, programming software to control the necessary hardware like the stepper motor or cooling system, adapting provided software to our system to translate G-code to Rapid code. Finally, the system developed consists of a 3D extruder mounted onto an ABB robotic arm capable of printing 3D models. The project has been developed using different hardware and software. The most remarkable hardware used is ABB IRB-1200 90/5 robotic arm, MiniFactory and Ultimaker 3D printers, Diabase flexion extruder, Arduino board and some Arduino shields. The software used has been SolidWorks, Repetier-Host for MiniFactory, CuraEngine, Arduino Software and ABB RobotStudio. Therefore, in this project, brief and basic information about these technologies has been included. ii Abbreviations 3D Three Dimensional ABS Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene AC Alternating Current AM Additive Manufacturing CDPR Cable-Driven Parallel Robots DC Direct Current DOF Degrees Of Freedom EPS European Project Semester FDM Fused Deposition Modelling IAAC Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia PA Polyamide PC Polycarbonate PEEK Polyether ether ketone PLA Polylactic acid PTFE Polytetrafluoroethylene PS Polystyrene PVAc Polyvinyl Acetate PWM Pulse Width Modulation STL Stereolithography WAAM Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing iii Table of Content ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................... I ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................. II ABBREVIATIONS ................................................................................................... III TABLE OF CONTENT .............................................................................................. IV TABLE OF FIGURES ............................................................................................... VII TABLE OF TABLES ................................................................................................... X CHAPTER 1 ............................................................................................................ 1 INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................... 1 1.1 European Project Semester ...................................................................... 1 1.2 The Team .................................................................................................. 2 1.3 Brand Identity ........................................................................................... 4 1.4 Project Motivation .................................................................................... 5 1.5 Project Target............................................................................................ 5 1.6 Socio-Economic Environment ................................................................... 6 1.7 Document Structure ................................................................................. 8 CHAPTER 2 ............................................................................................................ 9 STATE OF THE ART ................................................................................................. 9 2.1 MX3D ........................................................................................................ 9 2.2 RamLab ................................................................................................... 10 2.3 IAAC ......................................................................................................... 10 2.3.1 TerraPerforma .......................................................................... 11 2.3.2 Material .................................................................................... 12 2.3.3 Mini builders ............................................................................. 12 CHAPTER 3 .......................................................................................................... 14 TECHNOLOGICAL CONCEPTS ................................................................................ 14 3.1 Additive Manufacturing (3D Printing) .................................................... 14 3.1.1 3D Printing Technologies .......................................................... 15 3.1.1.1 Powder Bed Fusion ....................................................... 15 3.1.1.2 Directed Energy Deposition .......................................... 15 3.1.1.3 Material Extrusion ........................................................ 15 3.1.1.4 Vat Photopolymerization: ............................................ 15 3.1.1.5 Binder Jetting: .............................................................. 16 3.1.1.6 Material Jetting: ........................................................... 16 3.1.1.7 Sheet Lamination: ........................................................ 16 iv 3.2 Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM) ........................................................ 16 3.2.1 Extruders ................................................................................... 17 3.2.2 Materials ................................................................................... 19 3.2.3 Filament thickness .................................................................... 21 3.2.4 Bed material.............................................................................. 21 3.3 3D Printing Software ............................................................................... 22 3.3.1 G-code ....................................................................................... 22 3.3.2 Repetier - Host .......................................................................... 22 3.4 Slicers ...................................................................................................... 23 3.5 ABB Robot ............................................................................................... 24 3.5.1 Robotic arms ............................................................................. 24 3.5.2 ABB IRB-1200 90/5.................................................................... 25 3.5.3 Robot Software ......................................................................... 27 3.5.3.1 ABB RobotStudio .......................................................... 27 3.5.3.2 Rapid Code.................................................................... 29 CHAPTER 4 .......................................................................................................... 30 3D PRINTING TOOL DESIGN AND MOUNTING ....................................................... 30 4.1 Prototype ................................................................................................ 30 4.2 Final Design ............................................................................................. 31 4.2.1 Design Approach ....................................................................... 31 4.2.2 Chosen Hardware...................................................................... 33 4.2.2.1 Extruder ........................................................................ 33 4.2.2.2 Cooling System ............................................................. 34 4.2.2.3 Drive System ................................................................. 37 4.2.2.4 Electronics .................................................................... 37 4.2.3 Housing Design ......................................................................... 39 4.2.4 Guidance System Design ........................................................... 41 4.2.5 Printing Bed .............................................................................. 43 4.2.6 Additional Parts ........................................................................ 43 4.3 Complete 3D Printing Tool ...................................................................... 45 CHAPTER 5 .......................................................................................................... 47 SOFTWARE PROGRAMMING ................................................................................ 47 5.1 Software for the Tool. Arduino ............................................................... 47 5.2 Robotics Software. Rapid Code .............................................................. 50 5.3 Communication Arduino – Robot ........................................................... 57 5.4 Slicer Configuration................................................................................. 58 5.5 Robot Studio Simulation ......................................................................... 61 CHAPTER 6 .......................................................................................................... 62 TESTING AND RESULTS ........................................................................................ 62 6.1 Stepper Motor Driver.............................................................................. 62 6.2 Temperature control............................................................................... 64 6.3 Slicer profile - Printing Bed ..................................................................... 65 6.4 Guidance System .................................................................................... 67 6.5 3D Printing Results .................................................................................. 68 CHAPTER 7 .......................................................................................................... 71 v CONCLUSION ....................................................................................................... 71 CHAPTER 8 .......................................................................................................... 74 DISCUSSION ........................................................................................................ 74 CHAPTER 9 .......................................................................................................... 76 SUGGESTIONS ..................................................................................................... 76 BIBLIOGRAPHY .................................................................................................... 77 APPENDIX A: PROJECT MANAGEMENT ................................................................. 80 A.1 Strength-finder ....................................................................................... 80 A.2 Belbin Roles ............................................................................................. 82 A.3 Planning .................................................................................................. 83 A.3.1 Gantt Diagram .......................................................................... 84 A.4 Project Budget ........................................................................................ 85 A.5 Risk Management ................................................................................... 86 A.6 Stakeholders Analysis ................................................................................. 89 APPENDIX B: ASSEMBLY MANUAL ....................................................................... 95 APPENDIX C: INSTALLATION MANUAL................................................................ 102 APPENDIX D: OPERATING MANUAL ................................................................... 106 APPENDIX E: WIRING SCHEMATIC ...................................................................... 113 vi Table of Figures Figure 1. Brainstorm logo and brand name ................................................................... 4 Figure 2. Final logo ......................................................................................................... 4 Figure 3. MX3D bridge ................................................................................................... 9 Figure 4. RamLab’s Propeller (Alexandrea, 2017) ........................................................ 10 Figure 5. TerraPerforma, 3D printing with clay ........................................................... 11 Figure 6. Material, antigravity additive manufacturing ............................................... 12 Figure 7. Mini builders ................................................................................................. 13 Figure 8. FDM Extruder ................................................................................................ 17 Figure 9. Direct and Bowden tube feeding .................................................................. 18 Figure 10. Repetier Host working screen ..................................................................... 23 Figure 11. Robot Arm Design Configurations............................................................... 24 Figure 12. Rotational axes ............................................................................................ 25 Figure 13. General dimensions .................................................................................... 25 Figure 14. Tool flage schematic ................................................................................... 26 Figure 15. User connections ......................................................................................... 26 Figure 16. Home tab RobotStudio ................................................................................ 27 Figure 17. Controller tab RobotStudio ......................................................................... 28 Figure 18. Rapid tab RobotStudio ................................................................................ 28 Figure 19. Prototype extruder ..................................................................................... 31 Figure 20. Cable clips .................................................................................................... 32 Figure 21. Flexion extruder .......................................................................................... 33 Figure 22. Heating element and thermistor ................................................................ 34 Figure 23. 40x40 mm axial & 50 mm blower fans ....................................................... 34 Figure 24. Cooling tests with different shrouds ........................................................... 35 Figure 25. Narrow-airflow shroud ................................................................................ 36 Figure 26. Blower fan mounting .................................................................................. 36 vii Figure 27. Stepper motor ............................................................................................. 37 Figure 28. Mounting bracket ........................................................................................ 37 Figure 29. Arduino Uno & stepper motor controller shield ......................................... 38 Figure 30. Motor driver shield & cooling components ................................................ 38 Figure 31. 12V power supply ........................................................................................ 38 Figure 32. Housing design process ............................................................................... 39 Figure 33. 3D printing parts ......................................................................................... 40 Figure 34. Housing design ............................................................................................ 40 Figure 35. Housing design features .............................................................................. 41 Figure 36. Cable guides + mirrored versions ................................................................ 41 Figure 37. Power supply holder + cable guide ............................................................. 42 Figure 38. Filament spool holder + filament guide ...................................................... 42 Figure 39. Printing bed ................................................................................................. 43 Figure 40. Fan spacer and standoff .............................................................................. 44 Figure 41. Stepper motor spacer ................................................................................. 44 Figure 42. Reinforced housing and reinforcement ...................................................... 44 Figure 43. Assembled tool ............................................................................................ 45 Figure 44. Different rendered views ............................................................................ 45 Figure 45. Actual 3D-printing tool ................................................................................ 46 Figure 46. Arduino flowchart module 1 ....................................................................... 48 Figure 47. Arduino Flowchart module 2 ...................................................................... 49 Figure 48. Arduino Flowchart module 3 ...................................................................... 50 Figure 49. Flow chart of provided robot software ....................................................... 52 Figure 50. General flow chart Robot Program ............................................................. 53 Figure 51. Flow chart of the G0 command .................................................................. 55 Figure 52. Flow chart of the G1 command .................................................................. 56 Figure 53. Ideal (serial) communication ...................................................................... 57 Figure 54. Minimal communication ............................................................................. 57 Figure 55. Slicer profile – Speed and Quality ............................................................... 59 Figure 56. Slicer profile – Structures ............................................................................ 59 Figure 57. Slicer profile - Extrusion .............................................................................. 60 Figure 58. Slicer profile – Filament .............................................................................. 60 Figure 59. Simulation of the robot software................................................................ 61 viii Figure 60. Stepper motor driver variables ................................................................... 62 Figure 61. Step-multiplier test ..................................................................................... 63 Figure 62. Temperature control variables ................................................................... 64 Figure 63. Test pieces ................................................................................................... 66 Figure 64. Adhesion problem ....................................................................................... 67 Figure 65. Guidance system test .................................................................................. 68 Figure 66. Extruding without movement ..................................................................... 68 Figure 67. First layer printed ........................................................................................ 69 Figure 68. Lateral view of the firsts pieces printed – 0,4mm and 0,2mm ................... 70 Figure 69. Upper view of the firsts pieces printed – 0,4mm and 0,2mm .................... 70 Figure 70. Bigger and more complex figure ................................................................. 70 Figure 71. Belbin Roles results ..................................................................................... 82 Figure 72. Gantt project diagram ................................................................................. 84 Figure 73. Expected cost vs actual cost ........................................................................ 85 Figure 74. Power - Interest Grid ................................................................................... 90 Figure 75. Stakeholder Power - Interest Grid .............................................................. 91 ix