Optimization of process parameters in 3D-nanomaterials printing for enhanced uniformity, quality, and dimensional precision using physics-guided artificial neural network

Abstract

Pneumatic 3D-nanomaterial printing, a prominent additive manufacturing technique, excels in processing advanced materials like MXene, crucial for applications in nano-energy, flexible electronics, and sensors. A key challenge in this domain is optimizing process parameters—applied pressure, ink concentration, nozzle diameter, and printing velocity—to achieve uniform, high-quality prints with the desired filament diameter. Traditional trial-and-error methods often result in significant material waste and time consumption. To address this, our study introduces a comprehensive pipeline that initially assesses whether the selected process parameters yield uniform, high-quality MXene prints. Subsequently, it employs a Physics-Guided Artificial Neural Network (PGANN) to predict the filament diameter based on these parameters, integrating fundamental physical principles of the printing process with experimental data. Our findings demonstrate that using an XGBoost classifier, we can classify printed filament quality with an accuracy of 90.44%. Furthermore, the PGANN model shows exceptional performance in predicting the filament diameter, achieving a Pearson Correlation Coefficient (PCC) of 0.9488, a Mean Squared Error (MSE) of 0.000092 mm2, and a Mean Absolute Error (MAE) of 0.00711 mm. This pipeline significantly streamlines the process for researchers, facilitating the selection of optimal printing parameters to consistently achieve high-quality prints and accurately produce the desired filament diameter tailored to specific applications.