Purpose

Three-dimensional (3D) printing, one of the important technological pillars of Industry 4.0, is changing the landscape of future manufacturing. However, the limited build volume of a commercially available 3D printer is one inherent constraint, which holds its acceptability by the manufacturing business leaders. This paper aims to address the issue by presenting a novel classification of the possible ways by which 3D-printed parts can be joined or welded to achieve a bigger-sized component.

Design/methodology/approach

A two-step literature review is performed. The first section deals with the past and present research studies related to adhesive bonding, mechanical interlocking, fastening and big area additive manufacturing of 3D printed thermoplastics. In the second section, the literature searches were focused on retrieving details related to the welding of 3D printed parts, specifically related to friction stir welding, friction (spin) welding, microwave and ultrasonic welding.

Findings

The key findings of this review study comprise the present up-to-date research developments, pros, cons, critical challenges and the future research directions related to each of the joining/welding techniques. After reading this study, a better understanding of how and which joining/welding technique to be applied to obtain a bigger volume 3D printed component will be acquired.

Practical implications

The study provides a realistic approach for the joining of 3D printed parts made by the fused deposition modeling (FDM) technique.

Originality/value

This is the first literature review related to joining or welding of FDM-3D printed parts helping the 3D printing fraternity and researchers, thus increasing the acceptability of low-cost FDM printers by the manufacturing business leaders.

中文翻译：

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连接/焊接作为后处理技术以规避 FDM-3D 打印机的构建体积限制的概述

目的

3D 打印是工业 4.0 的重要技术支柱之一，正在改变未来制造业的格局。然而，商用 3D 打印机的有限构建体积是一个固有的限制，这使得制造业务领导者能够接受它。本文旨在通过对 3D 打印部件连接或焊接以实现更大尺寸组件的可能方式进行新的分类来解决这个问题。

设计/方法/方法

执行两步文献综述。第一部分介绍了与 3D 打印热塑性塑料的粘合剂粘合、机械互锁、紧固和大面积增材制造相关的过去和现在的研究。在第二部分中，文献搜索的重点是检索与 3D 打印部件焊接相关的细节，特别是与搅拌摩擦焊、摩擦（旋转）焊、微波和超声波焊接相关的细节。

发现

本综述研究的主要发现包括目前最新的研究进展、优点、缺点、关键挑战以及与每种连接/焊接技术相关的未来研究方向。阅读本研究后，将更好地了解如何以及应用哪种连接/焊接技术来获得更大体积的 3D 打印组件。

实际影响

该研究为连接由熔融沉积建模 (FDM) 技术制成的 3D 打印部件提供了一种现实方法。

原创性/价值

这是第一篇与 FDM-3D 打印部件连接或焊接相关的文献综述，有助于 3D 打印兄弟会和研究人员，从而提高了制造商领导者对低成本 FDM 打印机的接受度。