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Joseph Kubalak

Postdoc, Mechanical Engineering
  • Ph.D. 2020, Mechanical Engineering
Image of Joseph Kubalak, Ph.D. student in the DREAMS Lab

Joseph received his Bachelor’s and Doctorate degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Virginia Tech in 2014 and 2021, respectively. He joined the DREAMS lab in his senior year of undergrad as a member of the DreamVendor 2.0 capstone design team, which was tasked with designing and building a 3D printing vending machine. Joseph worked primarily on the ejection mechanism and case design.

As a graduate student member of the DREAMS lab, Joseph’s research focused on enabling multi-axis material extrusion to improve the mechanical properties of printed parts. By incorporating additional degrees of freedom into the motion control system, toolpaths were able to be highly tailored to the anticipated application space. He was funded by the Institute for Creativity, Arts, and Technology (ICAT) and worked as a graduate assistant in the CREATE studio.

As a postdoc, Joseph plans to continue his work in multi-axis toolpath planning by incorporating manufacturing considerations into a topology optimization routine. In this way, fabricated parts will be optimized in the context of both topology and toolpath.

  • Kubalak, J. R., Wicks, A. L., Williams, C. B. (2017). Using Multi-Axis Material Extrusion Additive Manufacturing to Improve Part Mechanical Properties through Printed Surface Reinforcement. Solid Freeform Fabrication Symposium.
  • Kubalak, Joseph R., Wicks, Alfred L., & Williams, B. Christopher. “Design and Realization of a 6 Degree of Freedom Robotic Extrusion AM Platform,” In Solid Freeform Fabrication Symposium (2016).
  • Kubalak, Joseph R., Wicks, Alfred L., & Williams, B. Christopher (2016). “Exploring Multi-Axis Extrusion AM for Improving Mechanical Properties of Printed Parts,” In MII Technical Conference & Review.
  • Kubalak, Joseph R., Wicks, Alfred L., & Williams, B. Christopher. “Using Multi-Axis Material Extrusion Additive Manufacturing to Improve Part Mechanical Properties through Printed Surface Reinforcement,” In Solid Freeform Fabrication Symposium (2017).
  • Kubalak, J. R. & Williams, C. B. (2018). “Robotic Deposition to Enable Multi-Axis Material Extrusion,” TechConnect World Innovation Conference and Expo, May 2018
  • Kubalak, Joseph R., Wicks, Alfred L., & Williams, B. Christopher (2018). “Improving Mechanical Performance of Material Extrusion Parts Using Multi-Axis Surface Reinforcement,” In MII Technical Conference & Review (pp. 124).
  • Kubalak, Joseph R., Wicks, Alfred L., & Williams, B. Christopher (2018). “Multi-Axis Material Extrusion for Improving Mechanical Properties of Printed Parts,” In CCAM Automation Day.
  • Kubalak, Joseph R., Wicks, Alfred L., & Williams, Christopher B. (2018). “Multi-Axis Material Extrusion for Improving Mechanical Properties of Printed Parts,” In Polymer Additive Manufacturing Consortium All-Hands Meeting.
  • Kubalak, Joseph R., Wicks, Alfred L., & Williams, B. Christopher. “Optimizing Topology and Toolpath for Multi-Axis Material Extrusion,” In Solid Freeform Fabrication Symposium (2018).
  • Kubalak, Joseph R., Wicks, Alfred L., & Williams, Christopher B. (2019). “Deposition Path Planning for Material Extrusion using Specified Orientation Fields,” In Proceedings of the 4th North American Manufacturing Research Conference
  • Kubalak, Joseph R., Woods, Ben S., Wicks, Alfred L., & Williams, B. Christopher (2019). “Enhancing the Material Extrusion Additive Manufacturing Process through Robotic Deposition,” In MII Technical Conference & Review (pp. 119).
  • Kubalak, Joseph R., Wicks, Alfred L., & Williams, Christopher B. (2019). “Enabling Layer-less Multi-Axis Extrusion for Printing Optimized Parts,” In Proceedings of the 30th Annual International Solid Freeform Fabrication Symposium