A multi-material, multi-technology FDM system was developed and constructed to
enable the production of novel thermoplastic parts. Two legacy FDM systems were modified
and installed onto a single manufacturing system to allow the strategic, spatially controlled
thermoplastic deposition of multiple materials during the same build. Additionally, a build
process variation utilizing more than two extrusions tips was employed to deposit
thermoplastic materials using variable layer thicknesses and road widths. The hardware and
control software is discussed as well as the potential applications of multi-material polymeric
parts. Benefits of multiple material FDM include: 1) achieving aesthetic requirements by
using polymers of different colors, and 2) attaining desired properties (e.g., bulk
tensile/compressive/flexural strength, weight, thermal conductivity) by strategically
combining layers and regions within layers of polymers that display different properties.
Parts produced using the build process variation exhibited internal road with 1200 ± 39µm
road width and 497 ± 11µm layer height while the contours measured 269 ± 18µm road width
and 133 ± 3µm layer thickness. Additionally, for a 50.8mm by 50.8mm square section
(25.4mm tall), the build process variation required 4.0 hours to build while the original
strategy required 6.2 hours constituting a 35% reduction in build time.Mechanical Engineerin