What’s the Big Deal About 5 Axes?
Living in the material world means dealing with objects that have 3 physical dimensions: width, height and depth.
In order to create some of these objects, the tools on our 5AXISMAKER milling machine/3D printer can move in those X, Y and Z axes – left-to-right, up-and-down and back-and-forth.
But our machine also goes beyond those basics to add two additional axes-of-movement: tilt and rotate.
Five axes of movement for the milling and printing tools in an affordable desktop machine is a big deal. Before us, the cheapest 5-axis milling/printing machines filled a room, cost about £75,000 – £200,000 (about $90,000 – $250,000 today), and were complicated to run.
Why would anyone want these two additional axes of movement?
Reaching Every Nook
Milling machines can handle all kinds of materials, in a subtractive process that works by removing small pieces from the raw solid chunk. Because of its precision, a milling machine can be used to create actual parts, products or art, in addition to scale models.
Being able to tilt or rotate milling bit, as well as moving it in X, Y and Z axes, can make a big difference for milling.
With those two additional axes of movement, the software-controlled tool can repeatedly reach the nooks and crannies that would otherwise require either a manual process – taking hours more for one object – or an expensive, industrial-grade machine, costing much more.
Stronger 3D Printed Objects
Instead of milling solid materials into the desired result, 3D printers generally work by extruding layers of plastic to build the object in an additive process that is not as precise as milling.
While there are some 3D printers that can work with composite materials, or some hardware add-ons to make this possible, 3D printers are generally limited to some form of plastic.
The process used in the 3D printer in our 5AXISMAKER is called FDM, or Fused Deposition Modeling. It melts thermoplastic filament that is deposited layer by layer, is the least expensive form of 3D printing, and is good for models and basic prototyping.
But its layered structure doesn’t usually offer much structural support in opposing directions. Having the ability to add layers via tilt and rotating motions allows the maker to create a layered 3D printed object that is somewhat stronger because cross-layers can be added to bolster support.
Beyond X, Y and Z
Since these two additional axes are relatively new to 3D printing, methods for taking full advantage of tilt and rotate in printing is currently the subject of various research projects.
Two other common 3D printing methods – called SLA and SLS – use processes that can create somewhat stronger objects, but, again, they are limited to using some kind of plastic. SLS, or Selective Laser Sintering, employs a high-powered laser to fuse plastic powders, layer by layer. SLA, or Stereolithography, uses a laser to cure liquid polymer resin into a hard plastic.
In short, the additional axes of tilt and rotate let milling machines reach virtually every spot on an object, and they allow 3D printers to create stronger models. In an affordable, desktop machine, these are good reasons to go beyond X, Y and Z.