Effect of extrusion on viscoelastic slurry 3D print quality: numerical analysis and experiment validation

Abstract

As a new manufacturing technology, three-dimensional (3D) printing is being applied gradually to all walks of life. 3D printing ceramic materials can solve the problem of hard and brittle materials in shape processing. In this study, precursor ceramic parts were prepared based on the technology of fusion deposition molding. To attain high surface accuracy of ceramic green samples, 3D printer plunger and screw extruders were applied for printing and for comparing the printing results. Two types of slurry extruder were simulated and analyzed. The determined slurry extrusion device was optimized. Results show that the quality of the green sample obtained by the screw extruder is significantly better than that obtained by the plunger extruder. The optimized 3D printer can finish printing the ceramic sample efficiently with the required printing precision.