3D printing has opened the door to a new universe of creations, both on a domestic and industrial scale. To promote the development of this technology, researchers test new materials with different physical and mechanical propertiesHowever, this is an arduous and expensive task.
Because not all materials can be printed under the same parameters, experts often resort to trial and error. As you can possibly imagine, this consists of making thousands of impressions in search of the ideal parameters so that this new material passes the tests and fulfills its function.
Now, a research team from MIT says that artificial intelligence could help improve this procedure. The benefits basically consist of avoid the need to make thousands of test prints and, consequently, reduce the costs of researching new 3D printing materials, which could lead to projects that were impossible until now.
In a study published in the online archive arXiv, The researchers explain that it is possible to train a machine learning model to dynamically monitor and adjust the 3D printing process. Thus, the parameters are calculated in real time, achieving a much more precise final printed version.
Improving 3D printing with AI
To shape this proposal, the researchers began by developing a artificial vision system with cameras directed at the nozzle of the 3D printer. As the printer begins to do its job, the system measures the thickness of the material based on the amount of light that passes from one side to the other.
In parallel, they used reinforcement learning to train an artificial intelligence model through the process of trial and error, like the one that is usually done when testing new materials, but of course, all this taking place in a simulation environment without the need to spend a huge amount of materials.
As the model made more simulated impressions, it learned and updated to make an increasingly accurate impression. The next step, roughly, was to leave the 3D printer in charge of the model, which received data in real time thanks to the artificial vision system mentioned above.
The researchers say that when they tested this system, the prints were more accurate than any other method. “It performed especially well in infill printing, which is printing the inside of an object,” they note. In other words, the system was capable of calculating the exact amount of material to use and correcting itself during the process.
However, they assure that this solution tit is not yet ready to be used in the real world, where the 3D printing scenarios are not finely arranged like in a lab. Now the researchers are working on adding “noise” to the process to provide more realistic results.
But the application of this type of solution has yet to be tested in complex multi-layer prints or multiple materials being printed at the same time. In any case, the advance seems promising and the researchers assure that the effectiveness of this technique has been demonstrated, although, certainly, it must continue to evolve.
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