Analysis, Numerical Simulation of Convective Heat Flow in the Fabrication Chamber of an Open Source FDM Device

Product quality of Additive Manufacturing specifically FDM technology (Fused Deposition Modeling) depends greatly on the selection and adjustment of technological parameters such as: extruder speed, layer thickness, extruder temperature, build orientation ect. Many research works on FDM technology have been focusing on the above issues with the aim of improving product quality. However, the influence of external temperature parameters (bed temperature, fabrication chamber temperature) on the formation process as well as product quality characteristics is receiving little attention, especially in desktops and open source devices. For the purpose of designing and manufacturing FDM equipment in the direction of industrial equipment at a reasonable price to serve developing countries, the authors designed and fabricated a temperature supplying system for the fabrication chamber of an open source 3D printer based on FDM technology. The heated chamber model is built based on the principle of local convection heat flow. Simulation and test results show that at a discharge groove velocity value of 3 m/s and a machine table temperature of 85 °C, the temperature distribution on the working surface reaches 93.3%. Experimental results also show that there is a clear improvement in the quality of 3D printed products using ABS material when the chamber temperature and table temperature are adjusted.