| Desktop 3D printing is not really popular among consumers, it's economics, and competitiveness as compared to traditional production paths are all obstacles, and the impact of speed can not be ignored. Anastasios John, Associate Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, MIT Hart said, 'At present, the average commercial desktop 3D printing speed of about 20 cubic centimeters per hour print, or several similar LEGO bricks structure, a key constraint on the feasibility of its speed.'  Because of this, Hart is committed to making desktop 3D printing more competitive at speed, and he and another engineer, Jamison Go, recently developed a new desktop 3D printer that is ten times faster than existing printers on the market. This means that if it takes an hour to print an object, the new printer can be completed in minutes. According to a recent Hart team paper published in Additive Manufacturing, this newly designed printer is named 'FastFFF'. Currently the most common technology for desktop 3D printing is FFF molding (melt extrusion) , Which is heated to melt the thermoplastic polymer material into filaments, like toothpaste squeeze out from the nozzle, deposited on the molding surface forming. Hart has fine-tuned the printheads after analyzing the limitations of the speed of the existing FFF molding technology, and on the one hand they designed a screw device that provides a stronger extrusion pressure on the print material for quick squeeze On the other hand, a laser is added near the auger to heat and melt the print material more quickly, allowing it to flow out of the nozzle more quickly. Hart said that this new printer made 3D printing a more viable process. "If I could get a prototype part in maybe five to 10 minutes, perhaps a stand or gear, instead of spending an hour Or am I able to print a bigger object at noon, not until the next day, then I'll finish designing, printing, and testing faster. MIT engineers have used the new fast desktop 3D printer to print small frames, bevel gears and even a small version of the MIT landmark dome in minutes, in minutes. |
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