The scientific article entitled “Trajectory Generation for Robotic Additive Manufacturing: A Comparative Study”, by M. Cavalcanti, H. Costelha and C. Neves, was awarded Best Paper at the IEEE International Conference on Autonomous Robot Systems and Competitions (ICARSC), held on April 2nd and 3rd in Funchal.
This work, carried out as part of PPS8 and WP22 of the INOV.AM Agenda, focuses on the comparative analysis of different methodologies for generating trajectories in additive manufacturing using collaborative robotic manipulators. The research evaluates the capacity and accuracy of these approaches in rigorous industrial contexts, contributing to the development of a technological demonstrator that incorporates multiple innovations, including the use of collaborative robotic manipulators for additive manufacturing.
The study emphasizes the integration of advanced real-time sensing and control systems, supported by different communication protocols, with the aim of optimizing the performance of the 3D printing process. It also highlights the coordination between robotic manipulators and mobile robots, enabling printing in dynamic and demanding environments.
Unlike most additive manufacturing systems that use larger extrusion nozzles, the demonstrator uses a nozzle with a diameter of just 0.8 mm, producing layers 0.64 mm thick and an extrusion width of 1.2 mm. This configuration imposes high precision requirements, higher than usual, requiring a rigorous analysis of the robotic manipulator’s ability to ensure the quality of the process.
The article presents a comparative evaluation of three different approaches to executing the printing trajectories, with a view to gauging the performance and precision of the collaborative robotic system under the specific conditions of the study.
The work continues with the development and improvement of the printing system and the generation of more complex trajectories, exploring the potential of robotic manipulators and their coordination with mobile robots. In parallel, the integration of real-time monitoring and control systems is underway, including the adoption of new protocols emerging at industrial level, with the aim of increasing the robustness and efficiency of additive manufacturing.
The team responsible, made up of researchers from the Polytechnic Institute of Leiria (IPLeiria) and the Institute of Systems and Computer Engineering, Coimbra (INESCCoimbra), deserves recognition for the distinction received and for its significant contribution to advancing technological innovation in the area of additive manufacturing with collaborative robotics.
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