Performance-Evaluation of the 3D Printing System Through Fault-Tree-Analysis-Method (2023-12)¶

This study focuses on the performance analysis of the 3D printing process using cementitious material on equipment installed at the Structures Laboratory (LabEst-UnB) of the University of Brasilia. A research direction was defined for the 3D printing with the aim of identifying which steps need to be further developed and which improvements should be made for this specific process to evolve. Following the execution of the proposed experimental program, evaluations of cementitious material pieces printed with the InovaHouse3D’s Alya 130 printer were conducted, documenting the encountered issues and classifying them into failure groups. The causes, consequences, and affected components were defined and used in the application of the Fault Tree Analysis (FTA) method in the search for critical system events. It was observed that the most critical system failures were related to the material composition and printing parameters, focusing on events that trigger variations in the material's consistency. Thus, through this work, it was possible to identify improvement opportunities and suggest scientific research topics to enhance the 3D printing process according to the established priority levels.