A graph-based path planning method for additive manufacturing of continuous fiber-reinforced planar thin-walled cellular structures

Chang, Guoquan; Wang, Yaohui; He, Jian; Xiong, Yi

2022-08-01

10.1108/RPJ-01-2022-0027

RAPID PROTOTYPING JOURNAL   Impact Factor & Quartile

1355-2546

1758-7670

Purpose Composite cellular structures have wide application in advanced engineering fields due to their high specific stiffness and strength. As an emerging technology, continuous fiber-reinforced polymer additive manufacturing provides a cost-effective solution for fabricating composite cellular structures with complex designs. However, the corresponding path planning methods are case-specific and have not considered any manufacturing constraints. This study aims to develop a generally applicable path planning method to fill the above research gap. Design/methodology/approach This study proposes a path planning method based on the graph theory, yielding an infill toolpath with a minimum fiber cutting frequency, printing time and total turning angle. More specifically, the cellular structure design is converted to a graph first. Then, the graph is modified to search an Eulerian path by adding an optimal set of extra edges determined through the integer linear programming method. Finally, the toolpath with minimum total turning angle is obtained with a constrained Euler path search algorithm. Findings The effectiveness of the proposed method is validated through the fabrication of both periodic and nonperiodic composite cellular structures, i.e. triangular unit cell-based, Voronoi diagram-based and topology optimized structures. The proposed method provides the basis for manufacturing planar thin-walled cellular structures of continuous fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP). Moreover, the proposed method shows a notable improvement compared with the existing method. The fiber cutting frequency, printing time and total turning angle have been reduced up to 88.7%, 52.6% and 65.5%, respectively. Originality/value A generally applicable path planning method is developed to generate continuous toolpaths for fabricating cellular structures in CFRP-additive manufacturing, which is an emerging technology. More importantly, manufacturing constraints such as fiber cutting frequency, printing time and total turning angle of fibers are considered within the process planning for the first time.

Cellular structure Continuous fiber-reinforced polymer additive manufacturing (CFRP-AM) Path planning Euler path

SCI ; EI

English

First ; Corresponding

National Key Research and Development Program of China[2021YFB1715400] ; National Natural Science Foundation of China[52105261] ; Shenzhen Science and Technology Innovation Committee[JCYJ20210324104610028]

Engineering ; Materials Science

Engineering, Mechanical ; Materials Science, Multidisciplinary

WOS:000846915600001

EMERALD GROUP PUBLISHING LTD

20223512670757

3D printers ; Additives ; Cellular automata ; Cost effectiveness ; Fibers ; Graph theory ; Graphic methods ; Integer programming

Computer Theory, Includes Formal Logic, Automata Theory, Switching Theory, Programming Theory:721.1 ; Computer Software, Data Handling and Applications:723 ; Printing Equipment:745.1.1 ; Chemical Agents and Basic Industrial Chemicals:803 ; Industrial Economics:911.2 ; Mathematics:921 ; Combinatorial Mathematics, Includes Graph Theory, Set Theory:921.4 ; Optimization Techniques:921.5

ENGINEERING

Web of Science

Southern Univ Sci & Technol, Sch Syst Design & Intelligent Mfg, Shenzhen, Peoples R China

Chang, Guoquan,Wang, Yaohui,He, Jian,et al. A graph-based path planning method for additive manufacturing of continuous fiber-reinforced planar thin-walled cellular structures[J]. RAPID PROTOTYPING JOURNAL,2022.

Chang, Guoquan,Wang, Yaohui,He, Jian,&Xiong, Yi.(2022).A graph-based path planning method for additive manufacturing of continuous fiber-reinforced planar thin-walled cellular structures.RAPID PROTOTYPING JOURNAL.

Chang, Guoquan,et al."A graph-based path planning method for additive manufacturing of continuous fiber-reinforced planar thin-walled cellular structures".RAPID PROTOTYPING JOURNAL (2022).