WP5 – Large Dimension Products

The development of products for application in harsh environments requires the use of specific materials with complex processing parameters, which have been widely studied and defined for conventional technologies. When such materials are necessary in unconventional technologies or in different applications, such as robotic arms, the processing parameters require new approaches and entail additional challenges, which become even more difficult if the material to be used comes from the recycling chain.

Production in additive manufacturing systems through material extrusion using robotic arms requires new paradigms, ranging from product design, material selection, material processability, communication with the production system, production control, etc. Product development using these technologies enables the production of solutions of considerable scale and innovative applications for additive manufacturing. These applications have been widely studied, mainly for external spaces, precisely due to the scale that production with robotic arms makes possible.

Developing sustainable products for use in harsh environments (Outdoors), combining the versatility and design possibilities that additive manufacturing allows, with the sustainability that comes with the use of recycled urban plastic waste, is therefore a necessity and a challenge in production with robotic arms. To overcome this challenge, we intend to develop a material using recycled urban plastic waste and research and define strategies for its reuse, develop a production cell with temperature control to optimize the manufacturing process based on extrusion using a robotic arm, and develop a specific extruder for this type of challenge, defining design guidelines for additive manufacturing through the development of process optimization analysis and through parameterization experiments for manufacturing. That way, we will aggregate disparate knowledge for the construction of a system that allows the production of this type of products, but also updating the state of the art in relation to products for adverse environments, introducing innovation and sustainability.

In short, the following outputs are expected to result from the development of the idea for this project: composition of recycled polymer-based materials and corresponding manufacturing processes; construction of a modular and removable production cell, with an extruder that is optimized for recycled materials, coupled to a robotic arm in a controlled environment; and manufacturing large scale disruptive and sustainable products using the elements mentioned above.