Aluminium 3D Printing with KUKA Robot

Abstract

This thesis work aims to identify how additive manufacturing of aluminium can be carried out with the help of an industrial robot. The nature of aluminium means that it needs to be melted in an inert gas zone, filled with argon, to prevent the formation of aluminium oxide. Also, industrial robots offer high repeatability and more degrees of freedom than a traditional Cartesian gantry. This could improve additive manufacturing by eliminating the need for support materials when manufacturing large overhangs. The development starts off with a brief literature survey and identifying existing technology on the market. Based on these finds a system for additive manufacturing is developed. This system consists of both off-the-shelf parts as well as custom designs of our own. A product development process is then carried out in multiple iterative phases, including conceptual designs, prototyping and detail designs. In addition, a brief investigation on possible strategies for a product platform and a potential business model is also addressed. A control system to connect and operate the various subsystems is developed and the digital process from initial design to finished physical product is investigated. Results from the working prototype is presented, a system that is fully capable of 3D-printing polymers in a multiaxis manner. A final business model and budget is also presented. Results from tests carried out with the prototype are presented. Later the results are discussed together with technical reflections from various parts of the thesis. Bottlenecks, such as the lack of software for multiaxis slicing is discussed in detail. Finally, the thesis is concluded together with recommendations for further work.