IOT BASED SMART 3D PRINTER

By
SAMIYA IFTEKHAR 1604-14-734-002
MOHAMMAD ABRAR AHMED 1604-14-734-303
MOHAMMED GHOUSE MOINUDDIN 1604-14-734-305

Under the guidance

of
AIJAZ FATIMA
Associate Professor

Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering

Muffakham Jah College of Engineering and Technology
Mount Pleasant, 8-2-249, Road no.3 , Banjara Hills,
Hyderabad - 500035, Telangana , India
(Affiliated to Osmania University)
2017-2018

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Contents :
ABSTRACT

AIM AND OBJECTIVES

MOTIVATION

INTRODUCTION

LITERATURE SURVEY

TECHNICAL APPROACH

WORKING

CONCEPT OF IOT IN 3D PRINTER

TIME PLAN

REFERENCES

CONCLUSION

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ABSTRACT:
3D Printing is the process of creating three dimensional objects from digital files in a
manner like printing images on paper which is of 2D format. This term is most closely
associated with additive manufacturing technology, where an object is created by laying
down successive layers of material. Each of these layers can be seen as a thinly sliced
horizontal cross-section of the eventual object. The main objective here is to overcome
the problems faced by todays 3D Printers by using real time monitoring system and also
getting rid of few of its repetitive tasks. Internet of Things is the platform that is being
used to achieve this Hence the title stands, IOT BASED SMART 3D PRINTER.

AIM AND OBJECTIVES:

A 3D printer connected to internet provides a wide range of possibilities to explore and
work around with.Internet of Things plays a key role in this.

To create anything with great geometrical complexity.

To operate the 3D printer wirelessly via Internet of Things.

To monitor continuously, the activities of the 3D printer over internet.

MOTIVATION:
3D printers require continuous feeding of instructions from the computer for the
printing process. Or a G-code file is fed to the 3DP via a micro SD card. The first
problem with this is, it involves copy-pastes a multiple number of times. Next, the
printing time for several basic 3D printers is usually more. Internet of Things enables us
to print the file wirelessly over internet from any part of the world. For instance, if a
person takes 3 hours to attend his 3D printer in his college and he has a 3D model to print

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which takes more than 2 hours to print, he can start the print right from his home over
internet. And by the time he reaches college, his print would be ready.

INTRODUCTION :
Todays 3D printers take a lot of time to print in detail which can strain ones
patience. And sometimes there are chances that the print material in the extruder engages
in an error and the print is a fail. Continuous monitoring is needed in most of the 3D
printers for the proper output. The aim of this project serves to build a 3D printer that can
monitor its activities in real time and give reports over internet with 24/7 live stream and
details like completion of print, failure of machine, time of print, temperature details,
amount of filament, etc. Adding to this, anybody from anywhere with an access to
internet can print files through this 3DP so that by the time he attends the machine, the
print is done.

LITERATURE SURVEY:

A systematic literature review was conducted using the Web of Science, PubMed,
and Embase. The search strategy was kept broad to ensure no relevant papers were
excluded. The search headings were 3D printing, three dimensional printing, additive
manufacturing, and rapid prototyping. After expert consultation, an additional search
was performed to include 3D-printing applications referred to as patient specific guides
and implants. Relevant articles found in references were added as well. The initial
database search was conducted in February 2015. An additional search was conducted in
December 2015, to include all papers published in 2015. Only full papers of controlled
trials and case series of minimum four cases, written in English, where 3D printing is
applied for surgical purposes on living humans, were considered. Manual screening of the
titles and abstracts was performed so as to include only papers consistent with the

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application of 3D-printing techniques to human medical ends. The inclusion criteria were
the use of computer aided manufacturing (CAM), computer aided design (CAD),
additive manufacturing (AM), printed scaffold, stereolithography, and reverse
engineering for human medicine. Additionally, titles containing customized, patient
specific, templates and physical model were retained in order not to overlook
potential use.

BLOCK DIAGRAM

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TECHNICAL APPROACH:

Electrical and Electronics Components:

Stepper Motors:

The basic operation of a stepper motor allows the shaft to move a precise
number of degrees each time a pulse of electricity is sent to the motor.

Since the shaft of the motor moves only the number of degrees that it was
designed for when each pulse is delivered, you can control the pulses that are
sent and control the positioning and speed.

Specifications of Stepper Motor used:

NEMA 17 Stepper motors

Step Angle : 1.8 deg

Step Angle Accuracy : +/- 5%

Temprature Rise : 80 deg C Max

Current A - 1.5

Stepper driver Used:

The A4988 is a complete micro stepping motor driver with built-in translator for
easy operation.

It is designed to operate bipolar stepper motors in full-, half-, quarter-, eighth-,

and sixteenth-step modes, with an output drive capacity of up to 35 V and 2 A.

The A4988 includes a fixed off-time current regulator which has the ability to
operate in Slow or Mixed decay modes.

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Ramps 1.4:

RAMPS 1.4 is probably the most widely used electronics for 3D printers.

It consists of a RAMPS 1.4 shield, an Arduino Mega 2560 board (or a clone),
and a max of five A4988 Stepper drivers.

It can control up to 5 stepper motors with 1/16 stepping precision and interface
with a hotend, a heatbed, a fan (or a second hot end), a LCD controller, a 12V
(or 24V with appropriate modification) power supply, up to three thermistors,
and up to six end stoppers

Arduino:

Arduino is an open source project that created microcontroller-based kits for

building digital devices and interactive objects that can sense and control
physical devices.

It provides a set of digital and analog input/output(I/O) pins that can interface
to various expansion boards (termed shields) and other circuits.

For programming the microcontrollers, the Arduino project provides an

integrated development environment (IDE) based on a programming language
named processing, which also supports the languages C and C++.

Arduimo Mega 2560:

The Arduino Mega 2560 is a microcontroller board based on the ATmega2560.

It has 54 digital input/output pins (of which 14 can be used as PWM outputs), 16
analog inputs, 4 UARTs (hardware serial ports), a 16 MHz crystal oscillator, a
USB connection,power jack, an ICSP header, and a reset button.

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WORKING:

Interfacing of the 3D setup with the microcontroller:

The stepper motors are being controlled by the RAMPS 1.4 Shield and Arduino Mega
2560 via the Stepper Pololu Motor drivers. The steppers are calibrated using the LCD
controller and the firmware that is flashed into the Arduino board. Once the G-Code is
uploaded, the printing process starts. Now, the G-Code may be received in three ways.
Firstly, it can be received from the computer directly. Secondly it can be received from
an SD card. Thirdly and the most importantly, a way which can avoid multiple copy-
pastes and delete is receiving the G-code via internet using a Wi-Fi module.

Designing of the 3D file to be printed :

First we need to create a computer model for printing the object. For creating that there
are Computer Aided Softwares like AutoCAD, Solid works, etc. The model to be printed
is designed here. The design is obtained by using CAD tools in these softwares. One can
design his model in a particular dimension within the limits of the printer bed. After the
object file is created, it needs to be modified. The object file contains numerous curves.
The curves cannot be printed by the printer directly. The curves have to be converted into
STL(Stereo-lithography) file format. The STL file format conversion removes all the
curves and it is replaced by linear shapes.

Converting the STL file into a G-Code:

The STL file has to be converted into a series of instructions for the 3D printers. These
instructions are called as a G-code. G-code is the common name for a numerical
controlled programming language. It is a way for you to tell the machine to move to
various points at a desired speed, control the extruder temperature , X-Y-Z directions etc.
. A slicer software converts the 3D model into a G-code. It cuts the model into horizontal
slices (layers), generates toolpaths to fill them and calculates the amount of material to be

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extruded. In simple words, the 3D model is sliced in a software into many 2D layers and
a G-code is generated for every single layer. Settings like infill density, temperature of
the extruder are also included in this. All this information is then bundled up into a G-
code file which is sent to the 3DP for the print.

Concept of IOT in 3D printer:

Operating the 3DP via Internet of Things:
Most of the 3D printers require continuous feeding of instructions from the computer for
the printing process. Or the G-code file is fed to the 3DP via a micro SD card. The first
problem with this is, it involves copy-pastes a multiple number of times. Next, the
printing time for several basic 3D printers is usually more. Internet of Things enables us
to print the file wirelessly over internet from any part of the world. For instance, if a
person takes 3 hours to attend his 3D printer in his college and he has a 3D model to print
which takes more than 2 hours to print, he can start the print right from his home over
internet. And by the time he reaches college, his print would be ready. Throughout the
printing process, the live video of the printing process is available to the user via the
webcam installed at the 3D printer. Problems like overheating, slipping of the belt, small
deviations in printing of model, etc. can be sensed by installing sensors on the 3DP and
data will be sent over cloud to the user about the problems encountered. In case of severe
issues, the printing process is paused and a call will be made directly to the administrator
to come and attend the 3DP. After the completion of print, a notification is sent indicating
the process has been completed and the print has been successful. Further, the user far
away from the printer can have access over the cloud to its estimated print time left,
filament left for printing, live feed and updates on how much progress has been done.
This will save his time of standing there and monitoring it.

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Time Plan:

Month Work
July-August Research and brain storming
September Plan drafting and development
October Presentation, evaluation and reviewing
November Designing and prototyping
December-January Implementation and testing
February Debugging and finishing

References:
Arduinos own 3D printer Materia 101:
https://www.arduino.cc/en/uploads/Main/Materia101_Assembly_Manual_EN_rev4.pdf

Upgrading 3D Printers with Wi-Fi

http://up3d-dev.github.io/downloads/docs/UP_3D_Printer_Wi-
Fi_Upgrade_Guide_en.pdf

FabAtHome: The economics of 3D Printers and brands which took over the
market.
https://www.fabathome.org/3d-printing-economics-brands/
Study of relay.
https://code.org/curriculum/course2/9/Teacher
Stepping motors.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0hEf1wJiXTxWVVyelYxamg2OTA/view?ts=59a1172
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Conclusion:
3D Printing technology could revolutionize and re-shape the world. Advances in 3D
printing technology can significantly change and improve the way we manufacture
products and produce goods worldwide. An object is scanned or designed with Computer
Aided Design software, then sliced up into thin layers, which can then be printed out to
form a solid three-dimensional product. As previously described, the importance of an
invention can be appraised by determining which of the human needs it fulfills. As
shown, 3D printing can have an application in almost all of the categories of human
needs as described by Maslow. While it may not fill an empty unloved heart, it will
provide companies and individuals fast and easy manufacturing in any size or scale
limited only by their imagination. One of the main advantages of the industrialization
revolution was that parts could be made nearly identically which meant they could be
easily replaced without individual tailoring. 3D printing, on the other hand, can enable
fast, reliable, and repeatable means of producing tailor-made products which can still be
made inexpensively due to automation of processes and distribution of manufacturing
needs. If the last industrial revolution brought us mass production and the advent of
economies of scale - the digital 3D printing revolution could bring mass manufacturing
back a full circle - to an era of mass personalization, and a return to individual
craftsmanship.

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