Analysis of the Dynamic Forces of 3D Printer with 4 Degrees of Freedom

Abstract

The use of parallel mechanisms in the structure of 3D printers are developing. Parallel mechanisms have excellent capabilities in terms of accuracy, stiffness and high load-bearing capacity. This article studies a 3D printer with four degrees of freedom that has three degrees of linear freedom and one degree of rotational freedom. The advantages of this printer are greater than conventional Cartesian printers, including higher print speed and stiffness, and there are also higher degrees of freedom for manoeuvrability. In this paper, the Newton-Euler analytical method is used to analyse the inverse dynamics and identify the driving forces required by the 3D nozzle motion. By coding the inverse dynamic equations in the MATLAB software environment, the driving forces diagrams are extracted based on the printer's nozzle motion. To validate the inverse dynamics relationships, simulations with the Simmechanic model of MATLAB software have been performed. Through changing the speed of movement of the printer nozzle and also change of the velocity and acceleration of drives, the forces required for the drive also change. The effect of changes in print speed of a specific geometry on the driving forces is also studied. As well as, choosing the optimum print speed with regard to the motor driver power and the dynamics of the forces applied to the drivers and the less print time are the most important factors that are discussed in this article.