A new software invented by the researchers at the University of Michigan could double the 3D printing speed without adversely affecting printing accuracy. 

Developed by Ulendo, a spin-out specializing in 3D printing software, the technology called Ulendo FBS software tool was recently launched at the RAPID + TCT 2022 Conference. 

Accelerating the speed of 3D printing usually results in vibrations that either slow down the process or degrade the quality of produced parts. The new software effectively negates the effect of vibration on mechanical printheads, allowing manufacturers to keep up the speed without sacrificing accuracy. 

Chinedum Okwudire, founder of Ulendo and associate professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Michigan, said 3D printing has long been limited by its slow process and his software is changing that. 

“If you want to reduce vibration in a moving object, most times you can do that by slowing down,” said Okwudire. “But as 3D printing is already very slow, that solution creates another problem. Our solution allows you to print fast without sacrificing quality.” 

The Ulendo FBS Software 

The Ulendo developed software is called FBS, which stands for Filtered B Splines. That technical name refers to the mathematical function Okwudire’s team used to translate the printer’s commands and vibrations. 

The software essentially serves as a translator between the commands and the vibrations to compensate for real-world vibrations and is compatible with any 3D printer that leverages a moving mechanical printhead.  

Designed to address the print speed problem, the software predicts when a 3D printer is about to experience a vibration and dynamically tricks the 3D printer to counteract it. As a result, printers running Ulendo FBS can safely increase print speeds without risking the part surface quality. 

Okwudire adds, “Say you want a 3D printer to travel straight, but due to vibration, the motion travels upward. The FBS algorithm tricks the machine by telling it to follow a path downward, and when it tries to follow that path, it travels straight.” 

He added that the printers could double their speed without consuming much more energy, allowing for a potential cost reduction per printed part.   

Expanding Ulendo FBS To A Wider Range Of Machinery  

Okwudire first began thinking about vibration compensation software when he was working in the industry and wrestled with a high-precision milling machine that was constantly vibrating. His team couldn’t simply stiffen the machines’ frames to dampen the vibrations, so they were forced to slow it down. 

He join the University of Michigan as a professor in 2011, where he finally had the freedom to design software that could override machine vibrations. In 2017, one of the graduate students from Okwudire’s lab managed to implement the software on a 3D printer.  

“Members of the 3D printing industry have the same jaw-dropping reaction I had when I first heard about how this technology results in a printer operating at two times the speed and 10 times the acceleration,” said Brenda Jones, CEO of Ulendo. 

Okwudire founded Ulendo to commercialize his technology through Innovation Partnerships at U-M and received a Small Business Innovation grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and an MTRAC grant from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation.   

The Ulendo team intend to expand the FBS algorithm to a wider range of machinery, including robots, machine tools, and other types of 3D printers. At RAPID + TCT, Okwudire also presented his lab’s latest technology – SmartScan. The software intelligently moves a laser beam around to prevent part warping during powder bed fusion 3D printing.

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