Improving precision of material extrusion 3D printing by in-situ monitoring and predicting 3D geometric deviation using Conditional Adversarial Networks

The field of additive manufacturing, especially 3D printing, has gained growing attention in the research and commercial sectors in recent years. Notwithstanding that the capabilities of 3D printing have moved on to enhanced resolution, higher deposition rate, and a wide variety of materials, the crucial challenge of verifying that the component manufactured is within the dimensional tolerance as designed continues to exist. Material extrusion 3D printing has long been established for rapid prototyping and functional testing in many research and industry fields. However, its inconsistency and intrinsic defects (surface roughness and geometric inaccuracies) hinder its application in several areas, most notably “certify-as-you- build” small-batch prototyping and large-batch production.In this study, we present an approach to reduce both inconsistency and the 3D geometric inaccuracies of products fabricated by material extrusion.1. This work developed and demonstrated an approach for layer-by-layer mapping of 3D printed parts, which can be used for validation of printed models and in situ adjustment of print parameters. This in situ metrology system scans each layer at the time of printing, providing a 3D model of the as-printed part. A high-speed optical scanning system was integrated with a Material Extrusion type 3D printer to achieve in situ monitoring of dimensional inaccuracies during printing, which leaves the door open to implement a closed-loop feedback system to compensate geometric errors during printing in the future and fabricate “certify-as-you-build” products.2. This work trained machine learning algorithms with data from this scanning system and predicted 3D geometric inaccuracies in new designs. Eight Conditional Adversarial Networks (CAN) machine learning models were trained on a limited number of scanned profile images of different layers, consisting of less than 50 actual images and 50 generated images, to predict the 3D geometric deviations of freeform shapes. The generated images were produced by randomly combining and cropping the actual images without any distortion. These CAN models produced predictions where at least 44.4%, 87.6%, 99.2% of data were within �0.05 mm, �0.10 mm, �0.15 mm of the actual measured value, respectively.3. This work developed an Iterative Forward approach to redesign the Computer-Aided- Design model by reverse engineering using the trained machine learning models, allowing for compensation of print imperfection at the design stage, in advance of the first printing. The compensation algorithms with eight different sets of different parameters were evaluated. It has been proven that the Iterative Forward approach improved the geometric deviation of the predicted profiles by making compensation to the CAD model

Inkjet printing digital image generation and compensation for surface chemistry effects

Additive manufacturing (AM) of electronic materials using digital inkjet printing (DIJP) is of research interests nowadays because of its potential benefits in the semiconductor industry. Current trends in manufacturing electronics feature DIJP as a key technology to enable the production of customised and microscale functional devices. However, the fabrication of microelectronic components at large scale demands fast printing of tight features with high dimensional accuracy on substrates with varied surface topography which push inkjet printing process to its limits. To understand the DIJP droplet deposition on such substrates, generally requires computational fluid dynamics modelling which is limited in its physics approximation of surface interactions. Otherwise, a kind of “trial and error” approach to determining how the ink spreads, coalesce and solidifies over the substrate is used, often a very time-consuming process. Consequently, this thesis aims to develop new modelling techniques to predict fast and accurately the surface morphology of inkjet-printed features, enabling the optimisation of DIJP control parameters and the compensation of images for better dimensional accuracy of printed electronics devices. This investigation explored three categories of modelling techniques to predict the surface morphology of inkjet-printed features: physics-based, data-driven and hybrid physics-based and data-driven. Two physics-based numerical models were developed to reproduce the inkjet printing droplet deposition and solidification processes using a lattice Boltzmann (LB) multiphase flow model and a finite element (FE) chemo-mechanical model, respectively. The LB model was limited to the simulation of single tracks and small square films and the FE model was mainly employed for the distortion prediction of multilayer objects. Alternatively, two data-driven models were implemented to reconstruct the surface morphology of single tracks and free-form films using images from experiments: image analysis (IA) and shape from shading (SFS). IA assumed volume conservation and minimal energy drop shape to reconstruct the surface while SFS resolved the height of the image using a reflection model. Finally, a hybrid physics-based and data-driven approach was generated which incorporates the uncertainty of droplet landing position and footprint, hydrostatic analytical models, empirical correlations derived from experiments, and relationships derived from physics-based models to predict fast and accurately any free-form layer pattern as a function of physical properties, printing parameters and wetting characteristics. Depending on the selection of the modelling technique to predict the deformed geometry, further considerations were required. For the purely physics-based and data-driven models, a surrogate model using response surface equations was employed to create a transfer function between printing parameters, substrate wetting characteristics and the resulting surface morphology. The development of a transfer function significantly decreased the computational time required by purely physics-based models and enabled the parameter optimisation using a multi-objective genetic algorithm approach to attain the best film dimensional accuracy. Additionally, for multilayer printing applications, a layer compensation approach was achieved utilizing a convolutional neural network trained by the predicted (deformed) geometry to reduce the out of plane error to target shape. The optimal combination of printing parameters and input image compensation helped with the generation of fine features that are traditionally difficult for inkjet, improved resolution of edges and corners by reducing the amount of overflow from material, accounted for varied topography and capillary effects thereof on the substrate surface and considered the effect of multiple layers built up on each other. This study revealed for the first time to the best of our knowledge the role of the droplet location and footprint diameter uncertainty in the stability and uniformity of printed features. Using a droplet overlap map which was proposed as a universal technique to assess the effect of printing parameters on pattern geometry, it was shown that reliable limits for break-up and bulging of printed features were obtained. Considering droplet position and diameter size uncertainties, predicted optimal printing parameters improved the quality of printed films on substrates with different wettability. Finally, a stability diagram illustrating the onset of bulging and separation for lines and films as well as the optimal drop spacing, printing frequency and stand-off distance was generated to inform visually the results. This investigation has developed a predictive physics-based model of the surface morphology of DIJP features on heterogeneous substrates and a methodology to find the printing parameters and compensate the layer geometry required for optimum part dimensional accuracy. The simplicity of the proposed technique makes it a promising tool for model driven inkjet printing process optimization, including real time process control and paves the way for better quality devices in the printed electronics industry

Inkjet printing digital image generation and compensation for surface chemistry effects

Additive manufacturing (AM) of electronic materials using digital inkjet printing (DIJP) is of research interests nowadays because of its potential benefits in the semiconductor industry. Current trends in manufacturing electronics feature DIJP as a key technology to enable the production of customised and microscale functional devices. However, the fabrication of microelectronic components at large scale demands fast printing of tight features with high dimensional accuracy on substrates with varied surface topography which push inkjet printing process to its limits. To understand the DIJP droplet deposition on such substrates, generally requires computational fluid dynamics modelling which is limited in its physics approximation of surface interactions. Otherwise, a kind of “trial and error” approach to determining how the ink spreads, coalesce and solidifies over the substrate is used, often a very time-consuming process. Consequently, this thesis aims to develop new modelling techniques to predict fast and accurately the surface morphology of inkjet-printed features, enabling the optimisation of DIJP control parameters and the compensation of images for better dimensional accuracy of printed electronics devices. This investigation explored three categories of modelling techniques to predict the surface morphology of inkjet-printed features: physics-based, data-driven and hybrid physics-based and data-driven. Two physics-based numerical models were developed to reproduce the inkjet printing droplet deposition and solidification processes using a lattice Boltzmann (LB) multiphase flow model and a finite element (FE) chemo-mechanical model, respectively. The LB model was limited to the simulation of single tracks and small square films and the FE model was mainly employed for the distortion prediction of multilayer objects. Alternatively, two data-driven models were implemented to reconstruct the surface morphology of single tracks and free-form films using images from experiments: image analysis (IA) and shape from shading (SFS). IA assumed volume conservation and minimal energy drop shape to reconstruct the surface while SFS resolved the height of the image using a reflection model. Finally, a hybrid physics-based and data-driven approach was generated which incorporates the uncertainty of droplet landing position and footprint, hydrostatic analytical models, empirical correlations derived from experiments, and relationships derived from physics-based models to predict fast and accurately any free-form layer pattern as a function of physical properties, printing parameters and wetting characteristics. Depending on the selection of the modelling technique to predict the deformed geometry, further considerations were required. For the purely physics-based and data-driven models, a surrogate model using response surface equations was employed to create a transfer function between printing parameters, substrate wetting characteristics and the resulting surface morphology. The development of a transfer function significantly decreased the computational time required by purely physics-based models and enabled the parameter optimisation using a multi-objective genetic algorithm approach to attain the best film dimensional accuracy. Additionally, for multilayer printing applications, a layer compensation approach was achieved utilizing a convolutional neural network trained by the predicted (deformed) geometry to reduce the out of plane error to target shape. The optimal combination of printing parameters and input image compensation helped with the generation of fine features that are traditionally difficult for inkjet, improved resolution of edges and corners by reducing the amount of overflow from material, accounted for varied topography and capillary effects thereof on the substrate surface and considered the effect of multiple layers built up on each other. This study revealed for the first time to the best of our knowledge the role of the droplet location and footprint diameter uncertainty in the stability and uniformity of printed features. Using a droplet overlap map which was proposed as a universal technique to assess the effect of printing parameters on pattern geometry, it was shown that reliable limits for break-up and bulging of printed features were obtained. Considering droplet position and diameter size uncertainties, predicted optimal printing parameters improved the quality of printed films on substrates with different wettability. Finally, a stability diagram illustrating the onset of bulging and separation for lines and films as well as the optimal drop spacing, printing frequency and stand-off distance was generated to inform visually the results. This investigation has developed a predictive physics-based model of the surface morphology of DIJP features on heterogeneous substrates and a methodology to find the printing parameters and compensate the layer geometry required for optimum part dimensional accuracy. The simplicity of the proposed technique makes it a promising tool for model driven inkjet printing process optimization, including real time process control and paves the way for better quality devices in the printed electronics industry

Curve Skeleton and Moments of Area Supported Beam Parametrization in Multi-Objective Compliance Structural Optimization

This work addresses the end-to-end virtual automation of structural optimization up to the derivation of a parametric geometry model that can be used for application areas such as additive manufacturing or the verification of the structural optimization result with the finite element method. A holistic design in structural optimization can be achieved with the weighted sum method, which can be automatically parameterized with curve skeletonization and cross-section regression to virtually verify the result and control the local size for additive manufacturing. is investigated in general. In this paper, a holistic design is understood as a design that considers various compliances as an objective function. This parameterization uses the automated determination of beam parameters by so-called curve skeletonization with subsequent cross-section shape parameter estimation based on moments of area, especially for multi-objective optimized shapes. An essential contribution is the linking of the parameterization with the results of the structural optimization, e.g., to include properties such as boundary conditions, load conditions, sensitivities or even density variables in the curve skeleton parameterization. The parameterization focuses on guiding the skeletonization based on the information provided by the optimization and the finite element model. In addition, the cross-section detection considers circular, elliptical, and tensor product spline cross-sections that can be applied to various shape descriptors such as convolutional surfaces, subdivision surfaces, or constructive solid geometry. The shape parameters of these cross-sections are estimated using stiffness distributions, moments of area of 2D images, and convolutional neural networks with a tailored loss function to moments of area. Each final geometry is designed by extruding the cross-section along the appropriate curve segment of the beam and joining it to other beams by using only unification operations. The focus of multi-objective structural optimization considering 1D, 2D and 3D elements is on cases that can be modeled using equations by the Poisson equation and linear elasticity. This enables the development of designs in application areas such as thermal conduction, electrostatics, magnetostatics, potential flow, linear elasticity and diffusion, which can be optimized in combination or individually. Due to the simplicity of the cases defined by the Poisson equation, no experts are required, so that many conceptual designs can be generated and reconstructed by ordinary users with little effort. Specifically for 1D elements, a element stiffness matrices for tensor product spline cross-sections are derived, which can be used to optimize a variety of lattice structures and automatically convert them into free-form surfaces. For 2D elements, non-local trigonometric interpolation functions are used, which should significantly increase interpretability of the density distribution. To further improve the optimization, a parameter-free mesh deformation is embedded so that the compliances can be further reduced by locally shifting the node positions. Finally, the proposed end-to-end optimization and parameterization is applied to verify a linear elasto-static optimization result for and to satisfy local size constraint for the manufacturing with selective laser melting of a heat transfer optimization result for a heat sink of a CPU. For the elasto-static case, the parameterization is adjusted until a certain criterion (displacement) is satisfied, while for the heat transfer case, the manufacturing constraints are satisfied by automatically changing the local size with the proposed parameterization. This heat sink is then manufactured without manual adjustment and experimentally validated to limit the temperature of a CPU to a certain level.:TABLE OF CONTENT III I LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS V II LIST OF SYMBOLS V III LIST OF FIGURES XIII IV LIST OF TABLES XVIII 1. INTRODUCTION 1 1.1 RESEARCH DESIGN AND MOTIVATION 6 1.2 RESEARCH THESES AND CHAPTER OVERVIEW 9 2. PRELIMINARIES OF TOPOLOGY OPTIMIZATION 12 2.1 MATERIAL INTERPOLATION 16 2.2 TOPOLOGY OPTIMIZATION WITH PARAMETER-FREE SHAPE OPTIMIZATION 17 2.3 MULTI-OBJECTIVE TOPOLOGY OPTIMIZATION WITH THE WEIGHTED SUM METHOD 18 3. SIMULTANEOUS SIZE, TOPOLOGY AND PARAMETER-FREE SHAPE OPTIMIZATION OF WIREFRAMES WITH B-SPLINE CROSS-SECTIONS 21 3.1 FUNDAMENTALS IN WIREFRAME OPTIMIZATION 22 3.2 SIZE AND TOPOLOGY OPTIMIZATION WITH PERIODIC B-SPLINE CROSS-SECTIONS 27 3.3 PARAMETER-FREE SHAPE OPTIMIZATION EMBEDDED IN SIZE OPTIMIZATION 32 3.4 WEIGHTED SUM SIZE AND TOPOLOGY OPTIMIZATION 36 3.5 CROSS-SECTION COMPARISON 39 4. NON-LOCAL TRIGONOMETRIC INTERPOLATION IN TOPOLOGY OPTIMIZATION 41 4.1 FUNDAMENTALS IN MATERIAL INTERPOLATIONS 43 4.2 NON-LOCAL TRIGONOMETRIC SHAPE FUNCTIONS 45 4.3 NON-LOCAL PARAMETER-FREE SHAPE OPTIMIZATION WITH TRIGONOMETRIC SHAPE FUNCTIONS 49 4.4 NON-LOCAL AND PARAMETER-FREE MULTI-OBJECTIVE TOPOLOGY OPTIMIZATION 54 5. FUNDAMENTALS IN SKELETON GUIDED SHAPE PARAMETRIZATION IN TOPOLOGY OPTIMIZATION 58 5.1 SKELETONIZATION IN TOPOLOGY OPTIMIZATION 61 5.2 CROSS-SECTION RECOGNITION FOR IMAGES 66 5.3 SUBDIVISION SURFACES 67 5.4 CONVOLUTIONAL SURFACES WITH META BALL KERNEL 71 5.5 CONSTRUCTIVE SOLID GEOMETRY 73 6. CURVE SKELETON GUIDED BEAM PARAMETRIZATION OF TOPOLOGY OPTIMIZATION RESULTS 75 6.1 FUNDAMENTALS IN SKELETON SUPPORTED RECONSTRUCTION 76 6.2 SUBDIVISION SURFACE PARAMETRIZATION WITH PERIODIC B-SPLINE CROSS-SECTIONS 78 6.3 CURVE SKELETONIZATION TAILORED TO TOPOLOGY OPTIMIZATION WITH PRE-PROCESSING 82 6.4 SURFACE RECONSTRUCTION USING LOCAL STIFFNESS DISTRIBUTION 86 7. CROSS-SECTION SHAPE PARAMETRIZATION FOR PERIODIC B-SPLINES 96 7.1 PRELIMINARIES IN B-SPLINE CONTROL GRID ESTIMATION 97 7.2 CROSS-SECTION EXTRACTION OF 2D IMAGES 101 7.3 TENSOR SPLINE PARAMETRIZATION WITH MOMENTS OF AREA 105 7.4 B-SPLINE PARAMETRIZATION WITH MOMENTS OF AREA GUIDED CONVOLUTIONAL NEURAL NETWORK 110 8. FULLY AUTOMATED COMPLIANCE OPTIMIZATION AND CURVE-SKELETON PARAMETRIZATION FOR A CPU HEAT SINK WITH SIZE CONTROL FOR SLM 115 8.1 AUTOMATED 1D THERMAL COMPLIANCE MINIMIZATION, CONSTRAINED SURFACE RECONSTRUCTION AND ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING 118 8.2 AUTOMATED 2D THERMAL COMPLIANCE MINIMIZATION, CONSTRAINT SURFACE RECONSTRUCTION AND ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING 120 8.3 USING THE HEAT SINK PROTOTYPES COOLING A CPU 123 9. CONCLUSION 127 10. OUTLOOK 131 LITERATURE 133 APPENDIX 147 A PREVIOUS STUDIES 147 B CROSS-SECTION PROPERTIES 149 C CASE STUDIES FOR THE CROSS-SECTION PARAMETRIZATION 155 D EXPERIMENTAL SETUP 15

Specifying a hybrid, multiple material CAD system for next-generation prosthetic design

For many years, the biggest issue that causes discomfort and hygiene issues for patients with lower limb amputations have been the interface between body and prosthetic, the socket. Often made of an inflexible, solid polymer that does not allow the residual limb to breathe or perspire and with no consideration for the changes in size and shape of the human body caused by changes in temperature or environment, inflammation, irritation and discomfort often cause reduced usage or outright rejection of the prosthetic by the patient in their day to day lives. To address these issues and move towards a future of improved quality of life for patients who suffer amputations, Loughborough University formed the Next Generation Prosthetics research cluster. This work is one of four multidisciplinary research studies conducted by members of this research cluster, focusing on the area of Computer Aided Design (CAD) for improving the interface with Additive Manufacture (AM) to solve some of the challenges presented with improving prosthetic socket design, with an aim to improve and streamline the process to enable the involvement of clinicians and patients in the design process. The research presented in this thesis is based on three primary studies. The first study involved the conception of a CAD criteria, deciding what features are needed to represent the various properties the future socket outlined by the research cluster needs. These criteria were then used for testing three CAD systems, one each from the Parametric, Non Uniform Rational Basis Spline (NURBS) and Polygon archetypes respectively. The result of these tests led to the creation of a hybrid control workflow, used as the basis for finding improvements. The second study explored emerging CAD solutions, various new systems or plug-ins that had opportunities to improve the control model. These solutions were tested individually in areas where they could improve the workflow, and the successful solutions were added to the hybrid workflow to improve and reduce the workflow further. The final study involved taking the knowledge gained from the literature and the first two studies in order to theorise how an ideal CAD system for producing future prosthetic sockets would work, with considerations for user interface issues as well as background CAD applications. The third study was then used to inform the final deliverable of this research, a software design specification that defines how the system would work. This specification was written as a challenge to the CAD community, hoping to inform and aid future advancements in CAD software. As a final stage of research validation, a number of members of the CAD community were contacted and interviewed about their feelings of the work produced and their feedback was taken in order to inform future research in this area

User perspective on AM-enabled mass customisation toolkits

Mass Customisation (MC) toolkits are powerful user interfaces that enable customers to engage in the design of their own products. This research follows design research methodology (integrated with design process) to research the user perspective on AM-enabled MC toolkits. This research proposes and validates a design framework to guide designers and software developers in designing a user-centred AM-enabled MC toolkits, enabled using digital fabrication technologies such as Additive Manufacturing (AM). This framework includes pre-implementation assessment, and implementation stages. An initial literature review revealed a lack of standard or universal norms for these user interfaces, and a lack of consistency in their design, in which web objects such as logo, product image, prices, etc. are not shared commonly among toolkits, nor occupy a frequent position. Furthermore, an optimum number of degree of freedom for MC toolkits is lacking from current design knowledge. This research focuses on AM-enabled Mass Customisation toolkits as a means to enable customers design; its concentration is on users. A first quantitative study was conducted to compare and rank of a collection of features. More detailed user requirements regarding the content and layout of MC toolkits were revealed in a workshop. As a part of the second study, four different CAD systems (software programs and 3D-enabling libraries) were used to create MC toolkits. This provided an understanding of the pros and cons of each system, and demonstrated Three.js to be the best system amongst each one s feasibility and application. Based on previous findings, and as a part of the UX-design process, a prototype web-based MC toolkit was constructed, utilising the Three.js library. The prototype was used for a second study as a platform to investigate, the user interaction and usability of the toolkit, to validate the toolkit design as well as provide insights for its improvement. Findings and reflections from all the studies were then visualised and communicated in an interactive design framework. A final study, conducted with professional users (N=4) assessed the usability and technicality of the framework tool and led to a number of suggested improvements. The main contributions to knowledge are: 1- a table was produced to compare the features of four different system, by which Three.js was identified as the most suitable among them 2- most important and expected features for the content were obtained from the user rankings, most frequent location of features for the layout was identified based on the users, and user insights were reflected based on the evaluation of the prototype 3- the UI needs to be flexible in term of degrees of freedom, in another words, each customer (novice or professional) is able to adjust the number of options presented. 4- a framework was proposed through reviewing and adapting existing guidelines and findings from this research

Advances on Mechanics, Design Engineering and Manufacturing III

This open access book gathers contributions presented at the International Joint Conference on Mechanics, Design Engineering and Advanced Manufacturing (JCM 2020), held as a web conference on June 2–4, 2020. It reports on cutting-edge topics in product design and manufacturing, such as industrial methods for integrated product and process design; innovative design; and computer-aided design. Further topics covered include virtual simulation and reverse engineering; additive manufacturing; product manufacturing; engineering methods in medicine and education; representation techniques; and nautical, aeronautics and aerospace design and modeling. The book is organized into four main parts, reflecting the focus and primary themes of the conference. The contributions presented here not only provide researchers, engineers and experts in a range of industrial engineering subfields with extensive information to support their daily work; they are also intended to stimulate new research directions, advanced applications of the methods discussed and future interdisciplinary collaborations

Proceedings of the 9th Arab Society for Computer Aided Architectural Design (ASCAAD) international conference 2021 (ASCAAD 2021): architecture in the age of disruptive technologies: transformation and challenges.

The ASCAAD 2021 conference theme is Architecture in the age of disruptive technologies: transformation and challenges. The theme addresses the gradual shift in computational design from prototypical morphogenetic-centered associations in the architectural discourse. This imminent shift of focus is increasingly stirring a debate in the architectural community and is provoking a much needed critical questioning of the role of computation in architecture as a sole embodiment and enactment of technical dimensions, into one that rather deliberately pursues and embraces the humanities as an ultimate aspiration

Proceedings of the COST Action TU1403 : Adaptive Facades Network Final Conference

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