Accelerating heat transfer modeling in material extrusion additive manufacturing: From desktop to big area

Thermal modeling informs the understanding of cooling phenomena and structural evolution during material extrusion (MatEx) additive manufacturing to help predict and tune final part properties. For fused filament fabrication (FFF) and big area additive manufacturing (BAAM), in particular, thermal models are well-suited to augment parameter optimization and closed-loop control for high throughput manufacturing of custom parts and products. However, limitations in computational time, speed, and cost pose a challenge to modeling large structures with sufficient multi-dimensional granularity over extended timescales, with many models confined either to high-resolution studies on short length and timescales or low-resolution, lumped approximations for larger timescale simulations. Thus, the goal of this work is to develop a high-fidelity thermal model applicable from desktop to BAAM systems with minimal computational constraint.