Preliminary study on evaluation of printing parameters for a MEX repair application
Raniero PIRLO, Marco LAFIRENZA, Maria Grazia GUERRA, Fulvio LAVECCHIA, Luigi Maria GALANTUCCI
Abstract. Hybrid manufacturing, combining Additive Manufacturing (AM) and Subtractive Manufacturing (SM), represents a promising approach for the repair and upgrade of existing components produced via AM. In this context, repair applications with Material Extrusion (MEX) processes remain largely unexplored. The present work provides a preliminary study on the use of Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF) with a consumer-grade 3D printer as repairing tools for damaged or incomplete parts. While complete reprinting of a component is often considered the most straightforward option, repair can offer significant advantages in terms of material savings, time efficiency, and reduced energy consumption. Additionally, the process enables the integration of new geometries or functionalities, extending the original use of the component. This study sets the basis for MEX repair application by analyzing the printing parameters that have more influence on the repair process in terms of geometric deviation. Results show that the MEX-based repair process is highly dependent on printing temperature and material flow rate.
Keywords
Repair, Hybrid Manufacturing, Reverse Engineering
Published online 9/10/2025, 8 pages
Copyright © 2025 by the author(s)
Published under license by Materials Research Forum LLC., Millersville PA, USA
Citation: Raniero PIRLO, Marco LAFIRENZA, Maria Grazia GUERRA, Fulvio LAVECCHIA, Luigi Maria GALANTUCCI, Preliminary study on evaluation of printing parameters for a MEX repair application, Materials Research Proceedings, Vol. 57, pp 234-241, 2025
DOI: https://doi.org/10.21741/9781644903735-27
The article was published as article 27 of the book Italian Manufacturing Association Conference
Content from this work may be used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license. Any further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the title of the work, journal citation and DOI.
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