I’ll let ASU Mecanical Enginering Systems student Dean McBride tell you in his own words:
Orbital ATK in Chandler currently utilizes two Stratasys Dimension SST 1200es printers to prototype various parts with. These printers print on parts trays, which must be removed and re-inserted into the printer to start new prints. Wanting to increase process efficiency, Orbital had the desire of automating this 3D printing process during times when employees are not present to run the printers. After the idea was born, Orbital presented this project to ASU Polytechnic as a potential senior capstone design project. Shortly after, an ambitious team was assembled to take on the project.
Numerous iterations of the engineering design process took place, and the team finally arrived at a final solution. This solution is a Cartesian style robot, meaning the robot moves in linear motions, similar to the 1200es printer itself. The mechanical frame and structure of the robot have been mostly assembled at this point. Once assembly is achieved, the team will focus their efforts on the electrical system of the robot, as well as software coding of the micro-controller control system. The team will be working to fine tune all aspects of the system until early May when the school semester ends. The final goal of this project is to automate at least two complete print cycles without human interaction.
Here is a picture of the team with the robot they are building along side the Stratasys FDM printer they are automating.
