Investigation of Thermal Characteristics and Skeleton Size Effects to improve Dimensional Accuracy of Variable Lamination Manufacturing by using EPS Foam

발포 폴리스티렌 폼을 이용한 가변적층 쾌속조형공정의 형상 정밀도 개선을 위한 열전달 특성 및 잔여 재료폭 영향에 관한 연구

Rapid Prototyping(RP) techniques have unique characteristics according to their working principle: the stair-stepped surface of a part due to layer-by-layer stacking, low building speed, and additional post-processing to improve surface roughness. A new RP process, Variable Lamination Manufacturing by using expandable polystyrene foam(VLM-S), has been developed to overcome the unfavorable characteristics. The objective of this study is to investigate the thermal characteristics and skeleton size effects as the hotwire cuts EPS foam sheet in order to improve dimensional accuracy of the parts, which is produced by VLM-S. Empirical and analytical approaches are performed to find the relationship between cutting speed and heat input, and the relationship between maximum available cutting speed and heat input. In addition, empirical approaches are carried out to find the relationship between cutting error and skeleton size, and cutting deviation and skeleton size. Based on these results, the optimal hotwire cutting condition and available minimum skeleton size are derived. The outcomes of this study are reflecting in the enhancement of VLM-S input data generation S/W.