Path Generation Techniques for Multi-Direction and Nonplanar Additive Manufacturing with an Industrial Robot

A conventional Additive Manufacturing(AM) system always deposits the material in the direction of gravity. It requires support structures to print overhangs and produces staircase effects since the curved surfaces are approximated with parallel planes. A traditional AM system has three axes, where the material is deposited in the XY plane, and the print bed goes down in the Z direction upon printing one layer. In a gantry-type AM machine, the print head is stationary, and it can't orient. A multi-axis AM system can deposit the material in different directions and attain continuous curved paths. This paper presents the path generation methods for Multidirection and nonplanar robotic AM to eliminate support structures and staircase effects.