Mechanical Engineering Team Reimagines 3D Printing with ‘OmniPrint’
A rendering of the Omniprint system
A team of Mechanical Engineering students from Wentworth Institute of Technology has developed an innovative 3D printing system that tackles one of the technology's most common challenges: waste.
For their senior capstone project, students Cole Fisher, Nikola Rosich, Nathaniel Smith, and Scott Stehlik created "OmniPrint," a novel system that uses a robotic arm to print complex objects without support structures.
Conventional 3D printers operate on a fixed frame, building objects from the bottom up in flat layers. This method presents a challenge when printing objects with an overhang, like the brim of a hat. To create these features, the printer must first build a scaffold of disposable "support material" to build upon. This process uses extra plastic and requires time-consuming cleanup.
The OmniPrint system replaces the rigid frame with a highly flexible, six-axis UR5 Cobot, a versatile, mid-sized robotic arm.
The Wentworth team engineered a complete solution by designing custom fixturing, fabricating a heated build plate, and programming a Linux-based microcomputer to simultaneously control the robot's movements and the extruder's commands. Unlike a normal printer that only builds from the top down, this system's robotic arm can lay down plastic from the side or at an angle, which eliminates the need for wasteful support material.
"This project gave us a wealth of experience throughout its development," Stehlik shared on LinkedIn. "All of us gained experience in electromechanical system design, heat transfer, and robotic control software."
Smith added that their final product is a testament to that work. "Our final print, a hollow rectangular prism, showcases the progress we’ve made," he said.
The team extends special thanks to their advisors, Professors Bo Tao and James McCusker, for their guidance and encouragement throughout the development of the project.