Fused Deposition Modeling
Process Abbreviation:
FDM
Process Description:
The fused disposition modeling process uses plastic filament
that is 1/16” in diameter and stored on a coil.
Material that is fed from a hopper in the form of pellets is an option
in some low cost configurations. The
entire system is enclosed in an oven chamber to control of the process
temperature. The system operates best
slightly under the melting point of the plastic.
During
the fabrication process, a strand of filament is unwound from the coil and fed
into an extrusion nozzle. The plastic is
melted and controlled by the nozzle. The
nozzle is able to move in the X and Y directions and is mounted to a stage
system. Layers are formed by very small
beads of plastic being deposited from the nozzle in the shape of the part
geometry. The plastic beads begin harden
immediately after being extruded from the nozzle in addition to bonding with
the layer beneath.
Advantages:
Numerous
Material Available
ABS
Casting
waxes
Nylon
like polymers
PC
PPS
Water
soluble materials
Good
layer bonding with ABS materials
Fast
small part production
Good
for parts with thin walls
Usage
of water soluble materials allow support structures to be easily removable
Disadvantages:
Slow
production rates for thick sectioned parts
Secondary
operations are needed to remove support structures
Poor
surface finishes
Suppliers
Facts
FDM is the #2 rapid prototyping process
The
closest competitor to the FDM process is 3-D printing
FDM
has a wider range of materials
FDM
prototypes have more strength than 3-D printing