{"id":{"repo_id":"mit","oai_identifier":"oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/139957"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/mit/oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/139957","repository":{"repo_id":"mit","name":"MIT","base_url":"https://dspace.mit.edu/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"High throughput extrusion additive manufacturing – rate limits and system design","abstract":"Fused filament fabrication (FFF) is an additive manufacturing (AM) process in which a polymer feedstock is melted and extruded through a nozzle while guided by a motion system, resulting in a three-dimensional part. FFF is applicable across a range of length scales and with a wide variety of thermoplastic polymers and composites. As such, FFF is increasingly used in prototyping, low volume production, and tooling/fixture applications. One of the drawbacks to FFF is its low build rate, which is limited by the fundamentally serial nature of the process–a single printhead must traverse a trajectory that spans the entire built volume of the part while depositing material. As a result, the build rate is governed by the performance of the motion and extrusion systems. This thesis explores the influence of motion and extrusion system design on FFF build rate by: 1) deriving a set of design rules for FFF systems that maximize rate, subject to specified quality constraints and guided by finite element analyses and parametric models; 2) the mechanical design and construction of a servo-driven FFF testbed that uses a parallel H-frame belt drive; and 3) implementing closed-loop servo control with the aforementioned hardware and assessing axis-level motion performance and overall print quality using test artifacts. Performance of the custom-built FFF system is benchmarked against the models in (1), and against commercial FFF systems, and rate-resolution tradeoffs are quantified. This thesis concludes with suggestions for further machine design and process control improvements for FFF AM.","abstract_html":"Fused filament fabrication (FFF) is an additive manufacturing (AM) process in which a polymer feedstock is melted and extruded through a nozzle while guided by a motion system, resulting in a three-dimensional part. FFF is applicable across a range of length scales and with a wide variety of thermoplastic polymers and composites. As such, FFF is increasingly used in prototyping, low volume production, and tooling/fixture applications. One of the drawbacks to FFF is its low build rate, which is limited by the fundamentally serial nature of the process–a single printhead must traverse a trajectory that spans the entire built volume of the part while depositing material. As a result, the build rate is governed by the performance of the motion and extrusion systems. This thesis explores the influence of motion and extrusion system design on FFF build rate by: 1) deriving a set of design rules for FFF systems that maximize rate, subject to specified quality constraints and guided by finite element analyses and parametric models; 2) the mechanical design and construction of a servo-driven FFF testbed that uses a parallel H-frame belt drive; and 3) implementing closed-loop servo control with the aforementioned hardware and assessing axis-level motion performance and overall print quality using test artifacts. Performance of the custom-built FFF system is benchmarked against the models in (1), and against commercial FFF systems, and rate-resolution tradeoffs are quantified. This thesis concludes with suggestions for further machine design and process control improvements for FFF AM.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Stevens, Adam Gregory"],"institution":"Massachusetts Institute of Technology","degree_name":"Doctoral","degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":"Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mechanical Engineering","school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Hart, A. John"],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2021,"date_issued":"2021-09","date_published":"2021-09","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:22:11Z","subjects":[],"languages":[],"rights":["In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted","Copyright MIT"],"rights_urls":["http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC-EDU/1.0/"],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/139957","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Hart, A. John"]},{"key":"dc:contributor.department","label":"Department","values":["Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 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FFF is applicable across a range of length scales and with a wide variety of thermoplastic polymers and composites. As such, FFF is increasingly used in prototyping, low volume production, and tooling/fixture applications. One of the drawbacks to FFF is its low build rate, which is limited by the fundamentally serial nature of the process–a single printhead must traverse a trajectory that spans the entire built volume of the part while depositing material. As a result, the build rate is governed by the performance of the motion and extrusion systems. This thesis explores the influence of motion and extrusion system design on FFF build rate by: 1) deriving a set of design rules for FFF systems that maximize rate, subject to specified quality constraints and guided by finite element analyses and parametric models; 2) the mechanical design and construction of a servo-driven FFF testbed that uses a parallel H-frame belt drive; and 3) implementing closed-loop servo control with the aforementioned hardware and assessing axis-level motion performance and overall print quality using test artifacts. Performance of the custom-built FFF system is benchmarked against the models in (1), and against commercial FFF systems, and rate-resolution tradeoffs are quantified. This thesis concludes with suggestions for further machine design and process control improvements for FFF AM."]},{"key":"dc:description.degree","label":"Dc Description Degree","values":["Ph.D."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["High throughput extrusion additive manufacturing – rate limits and system design"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.advisor":["Hart, A. John"],"dc:contributor.department":["Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mechanical Engineering"],"dc:creator":["Stevens, Adam Gregory"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2022-02-07T15:15:40Z"],"dc:date.available":["2022-02-07T15:15:40Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2021-09"],"dc:description.abstract":["Fused filament fabrication (FFF) is an additive manufacturing (AM) process in which a polymer feedstock is melted and extruded through a nozzle while guided by a motion system, resulting in a three-dimensional part. FFF is applicable across a range of length scales and with a wide variety of thermoplastic polymers and composites. As such, FFF is increasingly used in prototyping, low volume production, and tooling/fixture applications. One of the drawbacks to FFF is its low build rate, which is limited by the fundamentally serial nature of the process–a single printhead must traverse a trajectory that spans the entire built volume of the part while depositing material. As a result, the build rate is governed by the performance of the motion and extrusion systems. This thesis explores the influence of motion and extrusion system design on FFF build rate by: 1) deriving a set of design rules for FFF systems that maximize rate, subject to specified quality constraints and guided by finite element analyses and parametric models; 2) the mechanical design and construction of a servo-driven FFF testbed that uses a parallel H-frame belt drive; and 3) implementing closed-loop servo control with the aforementioned hardware and assessing axis-level motion performance and overall print quality using test artifacts. Performance of the custom-built FFF system is benchmarked against the models in (1), and against commercial FFF systems, and rate-resolution tradeoffs are quantified. This thesis concludes with suggestions for further machine design and process control improvements for FFF AM."],"dc:description.degree":["Ph.D."],"dc:identifier.uri":["https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/139957"],"dc:publisher":["Massachusetts Institute of Technology"],"dc:rights":["In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted","Copyright MIT"],"dc:rights.uri":["http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC-EDU/1.0/"],"dc:title":["High throughput extrusion additive manufacturing – rate limits and system design"],"dc:type":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Doctoral","Doctor of Philosophy"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:22:11Z"}