Finite Difference Modeling and Experimental Investigation of Cyclic Thermal Heating in the Fused Filament Fabrication Process

Fused filament fabrication (FFF) is one of the most popular additive manufacturing (AM) processes due to its simplicity and low initial and maintenance costs. However, good printing results such as high dimensionality, avoidance of cooling cracks, and warping are directly related to heat control in the process and require precise settings of printing parameters. Therefore, accurate prediction and understanding of temperature peaks and cooling behavior in a local area and in a larger part are important in FFF, as in other AM processes. To analyze the temperature peaks and cooling behavior, we simulated the heat distribution, including convective heat transfer, in a cuboid sample. The model uses the finite difference method (FDM), which is advantageous for parallel computing on graphics processing units and makes temperature simulations also of larger parts feasible. After the verification process, we validate the simulation with an in situ measurement during FFF printing. We conclude the process simulation with a parameter study in which we vary the function of the heat transfer coefficient and part size. For smaller parts, we found that the print bed temperature is crucial for the temperature gradient. The approximations of the heat transfer process play only a secondary role. For larger components, the opposite effect can be observed. The description of heat transfer plays a decisive role for the heat distribution in the component, whereas the bed temperature determines the temperature distribution only in the immediate vicinity of the bed. The developed FFF process model thus provides a good basis for further investigations and can be easily extended by additional effects or transferred to other AM processes.