This is an Industry 4.0 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industry_4.0) related project.
3D printing technologies have experienced a rapid development in recent years. However, some solutions such as the Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM) process still suffer from the low quality and poor consistency. Since most FDM control systems are open loop, there is no feedback that can tell the controller whether the machine is working as expected. Many problems may occur in the printing process such as layer shifting, warping, over-extrusion and under-extrusion. If these problems are not identified and rectified, the printed part will fail, and the materials and time are wasted.
Augmented reality (AR) is a live direct or indirect view of a physical, real-world environment whose elements are augmented (or supplemented) by computer-generated sensory input such as graphics, video, sound or GPS data. This technology enables people to capture the information from the real world through various sensors and integrate it into the virtual world. In this case, the in-process monitoring or process tracing can be achieved by using cameras and/or other sensors. We can then compare the real parts with the theoretical CAD model and identify the errors. After that, the controller can (a) warn the user and/or stop the printing process, or (b) adjust the printing parameters to rectify the problem. To enable these functions, a digital (cyber) twin of the 3D printer needs to be developed and implemented. The 3D printer digital twin is an abstraction of the physical printer with embedded computational capabilities. It represents the real-time status of the printer and its components, takes full advantage of the real-time data collected from the physical world (i.e. the printer) and endows the printer with intelligent and autonomous functionalities.
Undergraduate
A cyber-physical 3D printer with a digital twin and augmented reality.
Good programming skills and ability to work with sensors and data processing
Lab allocations have not been finalised