Tomasz Żuradzki Daniel PRUSAK and Grzegorz KARPIEL
AGH University of Krakow, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Robotics, Department of Robotics and Mechatronics, Al. Mickiewicza, Kraków
The article describes testing and comparison of strength of 3D printed belt pulley teeth. Toothed belt pulleys are commonly used in wide range of applications, especially powering mechanical equipment in vehicles, or synchronizing rotating assemblies in machines. Often tooth and pulley designs are unique. Commonly used manufacturing method, especially during prototyping phase is 3D printing. Due to complex internal structure of FDM parts, strength of entire part is heavily dependent of 3D printing and slicing parameters. Slicing parameters and material properties vary between users, machines and environments. Their general inconsistency is compensated by calibrating equipment and proper material preparation. However, manufacturing parameters also vary between use cases. The person responsible for manufacturing a prototype must consider the design geometry and material type meeting use case requirements. This paper explores this topic by comparing two advanced slicing methods, three material combinations and verifying their results by testing strength of specific belt pulley tooth samples, meant to be used inside moving vehicle to transmit power.