An Energy Profile Model for the Fused Deposition Additive Manufacturing Process

This study investigates a fundamental energy profile model for a PLA fused deposition additive manufacturing process. In the model, total energy use is a function of the energy use of each machine component during the duration of manufacturing a single part. An accurate energy profile model of the fused deposition process will make possible the optimization of deposition parameters to reduce energy consumption and it will identify major energy intensive components. Aggregated power versus time profiles are collected from a MakerBot 5^th Generation machine using an EKM omnimeter for a controlled part design. Power vs. time profiles are correlated with machine code to identify print phases: standby, warming, printing, idle, etc. Machine components operating in each phase are identified and isolated to obtain the power contribution of individual components such as display, extruder, heating element, linear stages, etc.