This article analyzes temperature fields and their variations in fused filament fabrication (FFF) from the filament entering the hot-end to the printed parts, aiming at a deeper understanding of the thermal process of this additive manufacturing technology. A standard E3D print head assembly was mounted on a robot arm for printing. A stable filament feeding region was determined with an upper limit in the volume flow rate at different nozzle temperatures. Within the limit, the steady-state temperature fields inside the hot-end were studied by a computational fluid dynamics model. Simulations indicated that the temperature became less homogeneous at higher flow rates, leading to a lower extrudate temperature at the nozzle outlet. These outlet temperatures were analyzed, validated, and used as input to simulate temperature variations in printed parts with a self-developed open-access numerical model. An interlayer time similarity rule was found in printing single-walled geometries, which specifies temperature similarities at the same interlayer time. The findings provide new insights into FFF processes, pointing out opportunities for improved production efficiency and scalability to large-scale manufacturing.

中文翻译：

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熔丝制造中的温度分析：从进入热端的长丝到打印零件


本文分析了熔丝制造（FFF）从丝材进入热端到打印部件的温度场及其变化，旨在更深入地了解这种增材制造技术的热过程。标准 E3D 打印头组件安装在机器人臂上进行打印。稳定的长丝喂入区域由不同喷嘴温度下体积流量的上限确定。在极限范围内，通过计算流体动力学模型研究了热端内部的稳态温度场。模拟表明，在较高的流速下，温度变得不太均匀，导致喷嘴出口处的挤出物温度较低。这些出口温度经过分析、验证，并用作输入，通过自行开发的开放式数值模型模拟打印部件的温度变化。在打印单壁几何形状时发现了层间时间相似性规则，该规则指定了相同层间时间下的温度相似性。研究结果为 FFF 工艺提供了新的见解，指出了提高生产效率和大规模制造可扩展性的机会。