Additive Manufacturing and Analogy in Different Gravitational Fields

Abstract

Although machining accuracy is always focused on by researches of manufacturing technology, the scale difference has been hardly discussed in conventional manufacturing fields. In recent industrial researches, additive manufacturing (AM), so-called 3D printer, gathers attention as a new technology for complex-shape fabrication. Although the accuracy has been determined by the performance of positioning control for tools and machined objects in conventional manufacturing, the shape of AM products is strongly influenced by the melting and solidifying processes, i.e., fluid dynamics in fabricated materials. Therefore, if the scaling in fluid dynamics during AM could be small, AM would achieve the drastic enhancement in fabrication accuracy and efficiency. This paper explains a new aspect to discuss the relation between the scaling factors and physical phenomena in AM. Considering that the gravity acceleration is a factor strongly influencing on AM process, the new analogy in different gravitational fields is clarified for improving the performance of AM in this study.