The Algorithm Development and Implementation for 3D Printers based on Adaptive PID Controller

Abstract

The 3D printers widely used in the world are produced in different mechanical and electronic designs. The 3D printers which have various mechanical structures such as cartesian, delta and core (xy, xz) already are used open source code software such as Sprinter, Marlin, Cura 3D and Teacup. The control of the 3D printers is usually done by the classical Propotional-Integral-Derivative (PID) control algorithm. In this study, we have developed for the designed 3D printer a new software by using adaptive PID control algorithm instead of classical PID. Five step motors of the designed 3D printer are controlled by the adaptive PID. In addition, there are both heating and cooling processes in the extruder system and these processes are controlled by the adaptive PID. The mechanical design uses a belt and pulley drive system which is suitable for accelerated movements. In the system software, 3D Printing Software Pipeline (input model, orientation and positioning, support structures, slicing, path planning, machine instructions) is applied. The control algorithms for extruder and step motors are prepared as separate function files in software implemented in C. It has been observed that the designed software is particularly successful in eliminating errors on the surface of the products.  

Keywords

• Adaptive PID,3D printer,step motor,algorithm

References

1. [1] Prince J.D., “3D printing: an industrial revolution”, Journal of Electronic Resources in Medical Libraries, 11(1): 39-45, (2014).
2. [2] Hunt G., Mitzalis F., Alhinai T., Hooper P.A. and Kovac M., “3D printing with flying robots”, IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA), Hong Kong, China, 4493-4499, (2014).
3. [3] Petrovic V., Gonzalez J.V.H., Ferrando O.J., Gordillo J.D., Puchades J.R.B. and Grinan L.P., “Additive layered manufacturing: sectors of industrial application shown though case studies”, International Journal Production Research, 49(4): 1061-1079, (2011).
4. [4] Lipson H. and Kurman M., “Fabricated: the new world of 3D printing”, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Canada, (2013).
5. [5] Gibson I., David R. and Brent S., “Additive manufacturing technologies: 3D printing, rapid prototyping, and direct digital manufacturing”, Second Ed., Springer, New York, (2014).
6. [6] Barnett E. and Gosselin C., “Large-scale 3D printing with a cable-suspended robot”, Additive Manufacturing, 7: 27-44, (2015).
7. [7] Choi J.W., Kim H.C. and Wicker R., “Multi-material stereolithography”, Journal of Materials Processing Technology, 211(3): 318-328, (2011).
8. [8] Wei Y., Chen Y., Yang Y. and Li Y., “Novel design and 3-D printing of nonassembly controllable pneumatic robots”, IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics, 21(2): 649-659, (2016).

9. [9] Güler B. and Çetinkaya K., “Industrial sizes double nozzle and cartesian type 3D printer design and prototyping”, International Symposium on 3D Printing Technologies, İstanbul, Turkey, 128-137, (2016).
10. [10] Akçay T., Semiz S. and Aykut, Ş., “Design and product testing of 3 dimensional printers”, International Symposium on 3D Printing Technologies, İstanbul, Turkey, 294-305, (2016).
11. [11] Anzalone G.C., Wijnen B. and Pearce J.M., “Multi-material additive and subtractive prosumer digital fabrication with a free and open-source convertible delta RepRap 3-D printer”, Rapid Prototyping Journal, 21(5): 506-519, (2015).
12. [12] Sun J., Zhou W., Huang D., Fuh J.Y.H. and Hong G.S., “An overview of 3D printing technologies for food fabrication”, Food and Bioprocess Technology, 8(8): 1605-1615, (2015).
13. [13] Blandon S., Amaya J.C. and Rojas A.J., “Development of a 3D printer and a supervision system towards the improvement of physical properties and surface finish of the printed parts”, IEEE 2nd Colombian Conference on Automatic Control (CCAC), Manizales, Colombia, 1-7, (2015).
14. [14] Horvath J., “Mastering 3D printing”, Apress, (2014).
15. [15] Moyer I.E., “Core XY”, http://corexy.com/theory.html, (2012).
16. [16] Weiss B.M.K., “Closed-loop control of a 3D printer gantry”, Master of Science Thesis, University of Washington, (2014).
17. [17] Åström K.J. and Hägglund T., “The future of PID control”, Control Engineering Practice, 9(11): 1163-1175, (2001).
18. [18] Dorf R.C., “Modern Control Systems”, Addison Wesley, (1992).
19. [19] Baek S-M., and Kuc T-Y., “An adaptive PID learning control of DC motors”, IEEE International Conference on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics, Orlando, USA, 2877-2882, (1997).
20. [20] Elsodany N.M., Rezeka S.F. and Maharem N.A., “Adaptive PID control of a stepper motor driving a flexible rotor”, Alexandria Engineering Journal, 50(2): 127-136, (2011).
21. [21] Tan, P.N., Kumar, V. and Steinbach, M., “Introduction to Data Mining”, Pearson Addison Wesley, (2005).