Thermomechanical analysis of the laminated object manufacturing (LOM) process

LOM is one of the techniques for rapid prototyping, which is used to build three‐dimensional solid objects. In this paper, a numerical analysis of the thermomechanical behavior of a laminate during the LOM process is presented. Models were developed to describe heat transfer and deformation phenomena. These models are incorporated into computer codes to generate numerical results. The numerical results show how the process parameters (e.g. roller temperature, velocity, indentation) are related to temperature and stress distributions within the laminate. By using this code, process conditions which are favorable to bonding are identified.