Development of an Innovative Pellet 3D Printer
About
The SPELL3D project is led by the University of Malta in collaboration with Invent 3D Ltd, a local industrial partner. The project is funded for a duration of 3 years by the Malta Council for Science & Technology (MCST) through the FUSION: R&I Technology Development Programme (R&I-2022-010-T).
Problem Background
The most common material extrusion (MEX) additive manufacturing (AM) techniques are fused filament fabrication (FFF) and fused granular fabrication (FGF). In contrast to FFF 3D printers, FGF printers use polymer pellets reducing the material cost and enabling freedom in material selection, but they are mostly bulky making them not suitable for desktop 3D printers and more expensive.
Our Goal
SPELL3D consists of designing and developing an innovative 3D printer which combines the advantages of FFF and FGF whilst eliminating the disadvantages of these processes.
Our Team
Prof. Arif Rochman
Principal Investigator and Coordinator
Ing. David Sciberras
Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Invent 3D Ltd.
Ms. Sarah Delia
Research Support Officer I
Prof. Ing. Pierluigi Mollicone
WP Leader for Melting and Extrusion Simulation
Dr. Ing. Evan Dimech
WP Leader for Development of Electrical Components