Spherical path planning for multi axis support free additive manufacturing of truss structures

Multi-axis additive manufacturing systems are gaining increasing attention due to their potential for unsupported manufacturing and reduced stair-stepping effects. In response to the challenges of unsupported printing for truss structures, a five-axis path planning method based on spherical slicing has been proposed. Leveraging the implicit expression equation based on cylinders, this study has effectively achieved the generation of efficient surface slicing and five-axis spherical path. The employed path planning method demonstrates significant advantages in both generation efficiency and stability. In the testing experiments, various unsupported path planning schemes are generated for different truss cells and truss structures, including configurations such as the "bridge" and cross-cylinder truss cells. To validate and extend the applicability of this method, two types of fiveaxis additive manufacturing devices are utilized: one based on a five-axis CNC system and the other employing a UR10 robot. The manufacturing experiments have effectively verified the feasibility of the spherical slicing algorithm in manufacturing various truss unit types, which provides a new technical way for the unsupported manufacturing of truss structures in the future.