FEATURE / PRINT ORIENTATIONS Figure 5. Manually adjustable 2-axis swivel nozzle for oriented large-format printing. (Patent pending, Ingersoll Machine Tools, Inc.) Figure 6. Slicing build plan of an overprinted feature enabled by 3+2-axis nozzle articulation. Motorized 5-Axis Printing The motorized 5-axis printing module is the latest technology advancement for non-traditional print orientations. With a 2-axis motorized nozzle orientation integrated to a 3-axis positioner, continuously interpolated 5-axis motion has be achieved. A modern CNC motion controller can use the precision measured kinematics offsets and perform a real-time transformation of the machine positioner based on the position of the orientation axes. This on-machine transformation allows the continuous operation of the printing operation with the accuracy of a traditional 5-axis machining center. Control of five degrees of freedom is required to locate a point in 3D space and orient a single direction vector. Additive applications use the 6th degree of motion freedom, rotation about the normal axis, to perform directional steering of auxiliary components. Automated composites layup (lamination) uses a steering axis to drive a following compaction roller in the direction of travel. Figure 7. Illustration of MasterPrint® 5X performing 5-Axis surfacing with a motorized 2-axis print module. (Patent pending, Ingersoll Machine Tools, Inc.) 68 | SAMPE JOURNAL | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2021 www. sampe.orghttp://www.sampe.org