Addressing surface quality via seam alignment parametrization

Abstract: Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF) is an additive manufacturing technology that uses molten thermoplastic material to build parts layer-wise. Any of the part's constituent layers is obtained through multiple passes of the extrusion heat. An external contour or perimeter and an internal geometry characterize each layer. This external contour is defined by a start-point, an extrusion path, and an end-point, which coincides with the starting point. The overlap between the extrusion path's start and the end-point is known as z-seam alignment or seam. By default, the slicing algorithms place the seams at sharp corners or hidden edges to hide possible imperfections such as blobs and zits. Unfortunately, seam hiding is more difficult for curved surfaces without linear transitions. As a result, the curved surface printed parts show visible seams of the external contour, affecting the part's aesthetics. In this regard, this study aims to reduce some of those limitations by systematically fine-tuning the seam-related parameters.