Optimization method to fabrication orientation of parts in fused deposition modeling rapid prototyping

The fused deposition modeling rapid prototyping technique is playing a more and more important role in the field of rapid prototyping manufacture. The prototyping orientation of complicated parts is one of the key problems for rapid prototyping. This paper has put forward an approach selecting fabrication orientation for the fused deposition rapid prototyping and established a model to optimize support area, fabrication time and surface roughness. Then the particle swarm optimization algorithm was used to obtain fabrication orientation. The rapid prototyping result shows that the optimization model proposed in this paper can improve the processing efficiency of rapid prototyping systems and reduce the cost obviously.