Minimizing manufacturing-induced response uncertainty of extrusion-based architected lattice under compression

Inherent uncertainties in materials and process parameters during an additive manufacturing process such as extrusion significantly affect the mechanical behaviors of printed products. Previous studies have investigated different factors in controlling response randomness for material samples and other printed geometries. Yet, the relation between the material-level uncertainty and the structural-level uncertainty has not been fully discussed. In this work, a framework is built to reduce the uncertainty of axially compressed architected lattices using an extrusion-based printing method by selecting appropriate process parameters with low uncertainty. The mechanisms behind reducing inherent uncertainties in the architected lattices are investigated. Under the same material, printer, and process parameters, the maximum material-level uncertainty reaches 6.63%, while the structural-level uncertainty will be significantly reduced to 0.29% in our case. Finally, by comparing the performance and uncertainty of architected lattices manufactured with different printers, consistent and stable architected lattice structures can be manufactured and the optimal parameters are validated through experimental verification. The difference in the peak force of lattices manufactured by Bambu when compared to Snapmaker and Raise is only 0.83% and 0.62%, respectively, with the coefficient of variation for each machine reduced to 0.43%, 0.14%, and 0.19%. Our study provides practical guidance to reduce the response randomness of architected lattices with other geometries and is applicable to lattices that are fabricated by other additive manufacturing methods.