Mechanisms for Post Processing Deformation without Part-Specific Tooling
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Abstract
Post processing deformation of additive manufactured components offers many advantages from reduced printing time and material usage to simplified multimaterial fabrication. For thermoplastic components, controlled deformations can be achieved by locally heating to temporarily soften the material. This paper investigates multiple methods of selectively heating and deforming desired locations to form the final component. The deformation location can be controlled by geometry (thickness), surface properties (reflectivity) or by local addition of a secondary material to control the heating. Demonstrations are provided for each of these deformation methods and then an example is provided to show how this approach could produce customized geometries from a standard feature.