| Abstract Scope |
<p>This study presents a comparative analysis of four control strategies—open-loop, bang-bang, PID, and adaptive model-reference control—for improving XY gantry positioning in Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM). A lumped-parameter model of a belt-driven Cartesian gantry was developed using vendor data, capturing motor limits, belt compliance, and dry friction. Each controller was implemented in MATLAB/Simulink and evaluated under identical conditions to assess rise time, damping, steady-state error, and robustness to ±10% model uncertainty. Results show open-loop systems suffer from persistent tracking errors, while bang-bang control introduces limit cycles. PID control, when tuned, eliminates steady-state error with moderate robustness. Adaptive control delivers consistent performance under uncertainty, albeit with slower response due to real-time adaptation. This work offers simulation-based insights to guide upgrades of consumer-grade FDM platforms, highlighting the reliability benefits of closed-loop and adaptive control. Future work will transition to hardware validation to quantify impacts on print quality and dimensional accuracy.</p> |