Additive manufacturing (AM) processes such as material extrusion and vat photopolymerization all require supports to print parts with overhang features. These additional supports using the same or different materials are a waste of materials since they need to be removed after the three-dimensional (3D) printing process and cannot be reused. The printing of supports is also time-consuming for the nozzle-based material extrusion processes. A new type of reusable support has been developed to address the support-related challenges in AM. The main idea is to use a set of dynamically controlled metal pins as a programmable building platform. In the layer fabrication, the metal pins will move up one-layer thickness after the printing of each layer. Also, each metal pin will automatically stop at a specified height that is determined by a combination of metal tubes, magnetic discs, and magnetic rings. Additional supports can be 3D-printed on the top surface of the metal pins, while the amount of the supports is dramatically reduced. After the printing process, the metal rods can be separated from the part and reset for the next printing job. A prototype system has been constructed to demonstrate the reusable support principle. The layout optimization and toolpath generation algorithms for the reusable support are also presented. The experimental results of several test cases show an average of nearly 40% saving on the printing time and material with increased reliability and robustness. The reusable support provides a support generation strategy that could be beneficial to other AM processes such as stereolithography and selective laser melting.

增材制造（AM）工艺（例如材料挤压和大桶光聚合）都需要使用支撑来印刷具有悬垂特征的零件。这些使用相同或不同材料的附加支撑物是材料的浪费，因为它们需要在三维（3D）打印过程之后移除，并且无法重复使用。支撑件的印刷对于基于喷嘴的材料挤压过程也是费时的。已经开发了一种新型的可重用支持，以解决AM中与支持相关的挑战。主要思想是使用一组动态控制的金属销作为可编程的构建平台。在层制造中，金属销钉在每一层印刷后将向上移动一层厚度。也，每个金属销将自动停在指定的高度，该高度由金属管，磁盘和磁环的组合确定。可以在金属销钉的顶面上3D打印其他支撑物，同时显着减少支撑物的数量。在打印过程之后，可以将金属棒与零件分离并重置以进行下一个打印作业。已经构建了一个原型系统来演示可重用的支持原理。还介绍了可重用支持的布局优化和刀具路径生成算法。几个测试案例的实验结果表明，平均节省了近40％的打印时间和材料，并提高了可靠性和鲁棒性。