Rapid prototyping (RP) technology has contributed greatly to the reduction of the lead-time and costs of the product development. In most RP processes, however, the inherent stair-stepped surfaces and shrinkage-induced warping of the parts require post processing such as surface finishing. To minimize such defects, VLM-ST, a newly developed RP process, employs a 3.9-mm thick expandable polystyrene (EPS) foam sheet and a hot wire to contour it to have slant linear-interpolated sides. The use of relatively thick sheets for layers, however, limits the process capability of constructing fine details, especially smaller than the layer thickness.
This study is focused on the development of a post processing method for fine details of VLM-ST parts and on the investigation of its thermal characteristics through numerical analysis and experiments. The developed post processing apparatus consists of the post-processing tool, an XYZ CNC table, a power supply and the control system. The post-processing tool was designed to meet all the requirements for the desirable post processing. It adopted a hot wire as a means of melting the EPS foam sheet. Various basic experiments on the post processing were carried out to obtain the optimal process conditions.
To predict the heat-affected zone and temperature distribution of VLM-ST parts in post-processing, the heat flux from the tool to the surface was calculated for the finite element analysis by modeling the tool as a heat source of radiation. The dominant process parameters such as the radiated heat input, the tool speed, and the gap between the tool tip and the foam sheet (tool height) were considered in the analysis. The results showed a good agreement with the experiments.
The effectiveness of the developed post-processing method for engraving fine details on the VLM-ST parts has been thus demonstrated. The experiments on engraving several sets of letters, such as CANESM, 인간, and 한국과학기술원, on the EPS foam sheet were carried out. In addition, a flowery shape was engraved on a three-dimensionally curved surface of a pottery-shape VLM-ST part.
