The Cost of Scaling Up in Large-Format Additive Manufacturing

Alex Roschli, Brian K. Post, Peter Wang, Phillip Chesser, Abigail K. Barnes, Adam Stevens, Jesse Heineman, Vlastimil Kunc, Joshua Vaughan, Celeste Atkins, Amiee Jackson, Michael Borish

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Additive manufacturing (AM) of large objects has, over the last decade, required the scaling of existing material extrusion processes. The current generation of large-scale printers are primarily gantry robots with high-throughput extrusion systems. With workspaces approaching 50 m3, these printers have pushed the boundaries of achievable print volume while allowing the utilization of low-cost feedstocks, such as cementitious materials and polymer pellets, like those used in injection molding. Continued workspace expansion requires an examination of the inherent trade-offs, which impact capital and operational costs. In this work, the authors examine these trade-offs to determine fundamental scaling laws for existing system architectures, survey the state of the art for alternative system configurations, and pose recommendations for future system designers to continue the evolution of large-scale AM systems.

Original languageEnglish
Journal3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing
DOIs
StateAccepted/In press - 2025

Keywords

  • 3D printing
  • additive manufacturing
  • large format AM
  • multiagent 3D printing
  • robotic 3D printing

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