As part of on-going research into filament-based Material Extrusion (MEX; aka Fused Filament Fabrication) polymer additive manufacturing, a modified industrial printer equipped with an infrared (IR) window was used to perform temperature measurements using infrared thermography. The IR window allowed the measurements to be taken without interfering with the printing process; i.e. with the printer door closed, and with build plate and build volume heated to printing conditions. The IR camera, lens and IR window system was calibrated using a black body calibration source, and the effects of the IR window on the temperature measurements were determined. This paper covers the calibration process and steps required to obtained high accuracy temperature measurements, within 3°C of the printer’s build plate. In addition, examples of measurements obtained from prints of various polymers are presented.
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