Open AccessFused Filament Fabrication Printer Modified to Dispense Cement Paste for Concrete Additive Manufacturing Studies
Author(s) -
Scott Z. Jones
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
journal of research of the national institute of standards and technology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.202
H-Index - 59
eISSN - 2165-7254
pISSN - 1044-677X
DOI - 10.6028/jres.125.034
Subject(s) - fused filament fabrication , cementitious , fabrication , materials science , nozzle , cement , 3d printer , software , 3d printing , rheology , mechanical engineering , composite material , computer science , engineering drawing , engineering , medicine , alternative medicine , pathology , programming language
Additive manufacturing (AM) with cement-based materials is an emerging technologythat has the potential to revolutionize concrete construction. The placement process isquite complex, requiring sufficient flow properties as the material leaves the nozzle,and sufficient stiffening properties before the subsequent layer is placed. Precisecontrol of material proportions and in-line monitoring of the time-dependent rheologyare required to ensure the successful adoption of AM in the concrete constructioncommunity. To facilitate the study of the rheological properties of cementitiousmaterials, as they pertain to AM, a commercial bench-top fused filament fabricationthree-dimensional (3-D) printer was modified to dispense cement paste mixtures.Modifications included the design and assembly of a pumping system and softwaremodifications to the 3-D printer's firmware that were necessary to accommodate the newhardware. After assembly, a series of tests were conducted to verify machine movementsand to calibrate the number of step pulses required per unit volume of extruded paste.The resulting software modifications and configuration files are publiclyavailable.