Investigating Surface Finish for Material Extrusion Process using Graphical Programming Tools

The additive manufacturing material extrusion surface finish is periodic in nature, which has been explored by researchers employing either rectangular or elliptical bead models. The shallow inclination angle configurations exhibit the greatest 'staircase impact', but in addition to this, the assumed bead geometry influences physical distribution of undercuts and voids. Depending on the initial assumptions, the predictive model may not reflect a valid build configuration. Consequently, graphical programming tools are employed to develop rectangular, obround, and elliptical bead sets, which allows the bead shape and inclination angle to be altered dynamically for a wide range of configurations. The surface finish is predicted for selected bead geometry while considering the critical angle (multiple beads on the base layer) impact.