Selection of optimal part orientation in fused deposition modelling using swarm intelligence

This paper presents a swarm intelligence approach for optimal orientation of a part produced by the fused deposition modelling method, with a view to reduce the volumetric errors that are primarily responsible for poor surface finish. A part is oriented in such a way to assist the designer in reducing build time, while at the same time enhancing part quality and orientational efficiency. The conventional approach in optimization of part orientation considers only minimization of the staircase effect in order to enhance the part quality. In the approach used by the present authors, a part is oriented by transforming it about x and y axes and an orientation is selected that not only provides minimum volumetric error and building time but also enhances orientational efficiency of the fused deposition modelling method. Using the swarm intelligence technique, the hierarchical particle swarm optimization algorithm is employed to obtain optimal part orientation. The results obtained by using the hierarchical particle swarm optimization algorithm are further compared with the results obtained by using the genetic algorithm; the results reveal that the hierarchical particle swarm optimization algorithm provides a better outcome than the genetic algorithm. An example is given to illustrate the approach.