Filament Temperature Dynamics in Fused Deposition Modelling and Outlook for Control

Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM), a form of Additive Manufacture, can produce 3D components directly from CAD data. This paper investigated fluctuations in filament temperature during step changes in feed rate and start/stop motions, monitoring temperature using a thermal camera and thermistors embedded in both the block and nozzle. Temperature overshoots 12 °C and 18.5 °C were observed during a step increase in feed rate and a priming motion respectively. Evaluating these changes with a sintering model predicted a 20% increase in bond formation, although no significant differences of bond sizes were observed using optical measurement.