Structural Design and Numerical Simulation of FDM Molding Chamber Based on Thermal-Fluid-Structure Coupling

Four different design of FDM molding chamber with hot air circulation were proposed to meet the requirements of temperature uniformity of FDM rapid prototyping equipment. Fluid and solid domain model of FDM molding chamber was established by finite numerical simulation method in order to analyze the influence of the heating rod, blower, air inlet and outlet position on the temperature uniformity and air flow. The results show that the temperature uniformity and air velocity evenness are highest when the heating rod is located on both sides of the molding chamber, the blower is lied at the bottom, the air inlet is located above the left side, and the air outlet is above the right side. And the temperature uniformity is up to 99%. FDM molding chamber prototype was developed according to the simulation results. Air flows evenly, and temperature uniformity is as high as 97.66%, which verified the accuracy and effectiveness of the simulation results deeply.