'The University of Texas at Austin, Bureau of Economic Geology'
Abstract
Fused deposition modeling (FDM) is a prominent technology for additive manufacturing.
Additive manufacturing is thought to minimize material waste, but the actual material waste
could be larger than expected due to human or printer error. In FDM, the quantity of support
material is influenced by the part orientation and other settings of the printing. Additionally,
failures may result from insufficient preheating time, inappropriate geometry of parts, user error
or printer malfunctions. Material waste from commercial FDM printers using ABS material in a
heavily utilized open shop was collected in this study. The mass data of both support material
and failed prints were recorded over time. In addition, the failed prints were classified into 9
different categories and weighed according to failure reasons. The data were analyzed and
indicated that about 34% of the plastic used in the open studio was wasted. Only considering the
failed prints as the extra amount of material consumed under realistic conditions, the mass of
material lost to failed builds was about 2.22 times what might be estimated in a controlled
process study. Suggestions to reduce the material waste for each failure type are given.Mechanical Engineerin
