Path planning and control of functionally graded materials for rapid tooling

Rapid tooling (RT) has recently become more important due to the requirement of rapid manufacturing. RT can manufacture stronger mold and functional component than rapid prototyping (RP) does. Besides, functional component and production are valued gradually. Functionally graded materials (FGM) technology is proposed to apply to functional component. This study aims to propose a new path planning, contour path method, and control feed rate of two powder feeders with two DC server motors to design a functionally graded material (FGM) structure. The continuous material distribution in each layer is changed into discrete stepwise grading by contour path method. It can avoid the problem of manufacturing process with Zig-Zag and increase the resolution of the grading region. Furthermore, the powder delivery database of material is built to control the composition of FGM accurately. Finally, the results of path planning and the case of powder feed are successfully demonstrated