Roboprint 3D printers for printing large objects

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2021: 3D printer prototype for printing large objects

The team of engineers Roboprint"," which is part of the Ventum Nova community of innovative projects, NIU "MPEI" on April 9, 2021 presented a prototype 3D Printer for printing large-sized objects. The device can print an unlimited part. Such innovations will find their place in aviation, space industry for example, for the production of aircraft hulls, as well as in automotive industry shipbuilding and. to wind power

Roboprint 3D printer prototype

Ventum Nova, based on the MPEI Research Institute, allows student teams, led by university experts, to conduct scientific research, develop innovative projects in order to create technology companies and commercialize development. One of these promising projects was Roboprint. The university provides all the necessary conditions for scientific activity: in our arsenal there is an educational and experimental CHP, a full-scale renewable energy landfill with wind, solar power plants and a geothermal complex, equipment from leading companies in the industry, "said Ivan Komarov, director of the Center for Innovative Development of the MPEI.

The creation of a part in modern 3D printers occurs in the internal volume of the device, which limits the print area. Therefore, the maximum dimensions of the manufactured part depend on the dimensions of the printer itself. The first feature of Roboprint is printing in outer space. This removes the above limitations. Its second feature is multithreaded printing with a swarm of robots. This innovation allows you to significantly accelerate the process of manufacturing complex parts, Roboprint is able to print parts that exceed the size of the device by tens of times.

In general, the Roboprint project is a swarm of robot printers. In addition to the directly printing part, radio navigation elements are installed on moving platforms that coordinate the actions of all elements of the swarm, company representatives said. The process of making a large part is divided into printing sections, each of which is responsible for a certain printer. Each printer is autonomous and has a supply of printed material (filament) and electricity on board.

As is known, the main problem of the production of extra-large machines, which include aircraft and windmills, is their arrangement of many small parts. This approach has many disadvantages. The main one is high weight and reduced strength of the structure. Aircraft cannot be made much easier with aluminium. High weight leads to corresponding fuel costs for each flight. However, according to representatives of Roboprint, if you switch from aluminum parts to parts printed by Roboprint from composite materials, you can achieve a significant gain in weight. The use of additive technologies allows printing parts not with solid, but partially filled, reinforced stiffeners and reinforcing threads. Consequently, the articles retain their mechanical properties and at the same time become lighter than similar all-cast ones.

Only 1 kilogram of weight savings in the aircraft industry improves the environment (reduces CO2 emissions by 300 kg (150 m3) per year) and reduces air carrier costs by $100 per year, and in the space industry, savings are even $1000 per kilogram of weight. At the same time, 3D printing with composites allows you to reduce the weight of a large part to 30% of a similar product in metal. Recall that the ultimate goal is to print aircraft entirely, which simplifies the production process. If we take into account that by 2050 the number of aviation flights will increase by 7 times, then the use of 3D printing technologies with composite materials opens up huge opportunities in the development of the aircraft industry, "said Roboprint. - There is a similar trend in the production of wind generators. One of the most difficult parts to make in this process is the impeller blade: it has a huge load of air flow, and therefore the part must be strong, light and have excellent aerodynamics. Blades are made by manual laying on finished molds. This significantly limits the form factor of the manufactured parts, makes production inflexible. In addition, the issue of transportation of parts is also important. It often happens that when building a wind generator, it becomes necessary to transfer the blades from the manufacturer to the installation site. And if you can transport a part by water to wind generators installed on the coasts, then the situation with ground generators is different. You have to build complex logistics routes, block roads, if possible avoid bridges and crossings, because blades can reach a length of up to one hundred and more meters.

Roboprint proposes to place the production of wind generators blades directly at the site of their construction without shapes. A swarm of robots prints a solid part without any templates and stencils on the construction site. This eliminates the risk of damage to the part during transportation and allows you to easily erect wind farms even in the most distant corners of the planet. Also, the process is not tied to specific forms/templates, that is, production becomes flexible and easily reconfigurable.

In the near future, the team plans to print a large functional part from composite materials (beam, set of wind generator blades) using several printers printing the part simultaneously. Tests of printed blades will be held at the wind generator of the training ground of the MPEI.