Integrating layer by layer manufacturing for the realization of polymer complex geometries with scanning devices: re-building by digital data

The additive manufacturing technique represents a way to realize components or prototypes without the use of conventional tools.The research presented aims at proposing a methodology based on the use of three different techniques that are the poly-jet 3D using UV photo-polymerization, the FDM of polyamide materials and the FDM of PLA materials. The original data were used at the beginning with the first technique in order to detect the shape and the geometry by a 3D SCANNER. The objective was the re-building of a model shape made using a procedure in which the input file characteristics were updated starting from those got by the scanning device in order to respect the original requirements defined in the computer aided environment. It was found that the physical re-building of an object is depending on the characteristics of the input file that needs to be digitally processed in order to get the desired shape and geometry. In that way also FDM using PLA and polyamide materials can be utilized to get components or prototypes from scanned digital data.