Thermal analysis of fused deposition modeling process based finite element method: Simulation and parametric study

Fused deposition modeling (FDM) is an advanced additive manufacturing (AM) method for rapid prototyping technique and to produce functional components with complex geometry. However, the process is mostly appropriate to polymer-based raw materials for several fields of application. In this study, a 3-D computational model is developed to analyze the transient heat transfer problem and investigate the inter-layer adhesion behavior, which affects the mechanical behavior of the final part. The developed model is validated based on published experimental and analytical data. The numerical model is utilized to predict the temperature evolution in the interface region between layers. The time history of temperature is coupled with a mathematical model describing the bonding potential to predict the bonding formation. In addition, the developed model is combined with design exploration tools to investigate the relationship between key process parameters and their impact on the output variables using design of experiment (DEO) and response surface methods. Moreover, due to the 3-D nature of the developed model, it could be coupled with a structural computational tool for further thermomechanical analysis.