Printing of Low Cost Sensors by Additive Manufacturing

Additive manufacturing (AM) revolutionary technologies open new opportunities and challenges. They allow low-cost manufacturing of parts with complex geometries and short time-to-market of products that can be exclusively customized. Additive manufactured parts often need post-printing surface modification. This study aims to review novel environmental-friendly surface finishing process of 3D-printed AlSi10Mg parts by electroless deposition of gold, silver, and gold–silver alloy (e.g., electrum) and to propose a full process methodology suitable for effective metallization. This deposition technique is simple and low cost method, allowing the metallization of both conductive and insulating materials. The AlSi10Mg parts were produced by the additive manufacturing laser powder bed fusion (AM-LPBF) process. Gold, silver, and their alloys were chosen as coatings due to their esthetic appearance, good corrosion resistance, and excellent electrical and thermal conductivity. The metals were deposited on 3D-printed disk-shaped specimens at 80 and 90 °C using a dedicated surface activation method where special functionalization of the printed AlSi10Mg was performed to assure a uniform catalytic surface yielding a good adhesion of the deposited metal to the substrate. Various methods were used to examine the coating quality, including light microscopy, optical profilometry, XRD, X-ray fluorescence, SEM–energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), focused ion beam (FIB)-SEM, and XPS analyses. The results indicate that the developed coatings yield satisfactory quality, and the suggested surface finishing process can be used for many AM products and applications.

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Development of an Additive Manufacturing System for the Deposition of Thermoplastics Impregnated with Carbon Fibers

Journal of Manufacturing and Materials Processing ◽

10.3390/jmmp3020035 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 3 (2) ◽

pp. 35 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Miguel Reis Silva ◽

António M. Pereira ◽

Nuno Alves ◽

Gonçalo Mateus ◽

Artur Mateus ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Tensile Strength ◽

Additive Manufacturing ◽

Carbon Fibers ◽

Low Cost ◽

Deposition Process ◽

Processing Parameters ◽

Yarn Diameter ◽

Thermoplastic Matrix ◽

Anisotropic Mechanical Properties ◽

Long Carbon Fiber

This work presents an innovative system that allows the oriented deposition of continuous fibers or long fibers, pre-impregnated or not, in a thermoplastic matrix. This system is used in an integrated way with the filamentary fusion additive manufacturing technology and allows a localized and oriented reinforcement of polymer components for advanced engineering applications at a low cost. To demonstrate the capabilities of the developed system, composite components of thermoplastic matrix (polyamide) reinforced with pre-impregnated long carbon fiber (carbon + polyamide), 1 K and 3 K, were processed and their tensile and flexural strength evaluated. It was demonstrated that the tensile strength value depends on the density of carbon fibers present in the composite, and that with the passage of 2 to 4 layers of fibers, an increase in breaking strength was obtained of about 366% and 325% for the 3 K and 1 K yarns, respectively. The increase of the fiber yarn diameter leads to higher values of tensile strength of the composite. The obtained standard deviation reveals that the deposition process gives rise to components with anisotropic mechanical properties and the need to optimize the processing parameters, especially those that lead to an increase in adhesion between deposited layers.

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Multiscale additive manufacturing of polymers using 3D photo-printable self-assembling ionic liquid monomers

Molecular Systems Design & Engineering ◽

10.1039/c8me00106e ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 4 (3) ◽

pp. 580-585 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Bineh G. Ndefru ◽

Bryan S. Ringstrand ◽

Sokhna I.-Y. Diouf ◽

Sönke Seifert ◽

Juan H. Leal ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Ionic Liquid ◽

Additive Manufacturing ◽

Self Assembly ◽

Low Cost ◽

Low Resolution ◽

Top Down ◽

Bottom Up ◽

Cost Approach ◽

Self Assembling ◽

Nanoscale Features

Combining bottom-up self-assembly with top-down 3D photoprinting affords a low cost approach for the introduction of nanoscale features into a build with low resolution features.

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Filament Rheological Characterization for Fused Filament Fabrication Additive Manufacturing: A Low-Cost Approach

Additive Manufacturing ◽

10.1016/j.addma.2021.102208 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 102208

Author(s):

Jingdong Chen ◽

Douglas E. Smith

Keyword(s):

Additive Manufacturing ◽

Low Cost ◽

Fused Filament Fabrication ◽

Rheological Characterization ◽

Cost Approach

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Design and Analysis of Hybrid Fused Filament Fabrication Apparatus for Fabrication of Composites

Current Materials Science ◽

10.2174/2666145414666210412150641 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 14 ◽

Author(s):

Aniket Yadav ◽

Piyush Chohan ◽

Ranvijay Kumar ◽

Jasgurpreet Singh Chohan ◽

Raman Kumar

Keyword(s):

Additive Manufacturing ◽

Composite Materials ◽

Design Process ◽

Low Cost ◽

Matrix Material ◽

Fabrication Process ◽

Layer By Layer ◽

Fused Filament Fabrication ◽

Composite Manufacturing ◽

Tool Paths

Background: Additive manufacturing is the most famous technology which requires materials or composites to be fabricated with layer by layer deposition strategy. Due to its lower cost, higher accuracy and less material wastage; this technology is used in almost every sector. But in many applications there is a need to alter the properties of a product in a certain direction with the help of some reinforcements. With the use of reinforcements, composite layers can be fabricated using additive manufacturing technique which will enhance the directional properties. A novel apparatus is designed to spray the reinforcement material into the printed structures in a very neat and precise manner. This spray nozzle is fully automated, which works according to tool-paths generated by slicing software. The alternate deposition of layers of reinforcement and build materials helped to fabricate customized composite products. Objective: The objective of present study is to design and analyze the working principle of novel technique which has been developed to fabricate composite materials using additive manufacturing. The apparatus is numerically controlled by computer according to CAD data which facilitates the deposition of alternate layers of reinforcement and matrix material. The major challenges during the design process and function of each component has been explored. Methods: The design process is initiated after comprehensive literature review performed to study previous composite manufacturing processes. The recent patents published by different patent offices of the world are studied in detail and analysis has been used to design a low cost composite fabrication apparatus. A liquid dispensing device comprises a storage tank attached with a pump and microprocessor. The microprocessor receives the signal from the computer as per tool paths generated by slicing software which decides the spray of reinforcements on polymer layers. The spraying apparatus moves in coordination with the primary nozzle of the Fused Filament Fabrication process. Results: The hybridization of Fused Filament Fabrication [process with metal spray process has been successfully performed. The apparatus facilitates the fabrication of low cost composite materials along with flexibility of complete customization of composite manufacturing process. The anisotropic behaviour of products can be easily controlled and managed during fabrication which can be used for different applications.

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Open Uniaxial Test Machine (OpenUTM): Part 1 — A Low-Cost Electrohydraulic Test Frame for Additive Manufacturing Part Qualification

Volume 1A: 38th Computers and Information in Engineering Conference ◽

10.1115/detc2018-86015 ◽

2018 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

John C. Steuben ◽

Athanasios P. Iliopoulos ◽

John G. Michopoulos

Keyword(s):

Additive Manufacturing ◽

Low Cost ◽

Test Machine ◽

Mechanical Stiffness ◽

Uniaxial Test ◽

Bill Of Materials ◽

Test Frame ◽

Force Displacement

A wide variety of scientific and engineering activities require the use of testing machines in order to acquire data regarding the response of materials subjected to mechanical loads. This is particularly applicable to the domain of Additive Manufacturing (AM), where mechanical qualification is essential. Such machinery should be capable of applying loads at required levels and exhibit high mechanical stiffness. Accurate force, displacement, and strain measurements are also required. As a consequence, such testing machines are typically very costly. In the present paper we introduce the Open Uniaxial Test Machine (OpenUTM) project, aimed at providing a low-cost (less than $2500.00) material testing hardware/software framework. This paper will focus on the engineering design and hardware aspects of the OpenUTM project, with particular attention paid to the use of an electrohydraulic actuator (EHA) to provide test loads. A full bill of materials and drawings package is provided, in order to enable the use of the OpenUTM framework by research groups with minimal machine tooling. We introduce several case studies demonstrating the successful use of the OpenUTM frame in AM research efforts, including the testing and characterization of AM polymers and ceramics. We conclude with discussion of the software aspects of the OpenUTM framework, which will be elaborated upon in a follow-up paper (part two). We also present a series of potential avenues towards the improvement of the OpenUTM frame in future hardware iterations.

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3-D Printable Polymer Pelletizer Chopper for Fused Granular Fabrication-Based Additive Manufacturing

Inventions ◽

10.3390/inventions3040078 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 3 (4) ◽

pp. 78 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Aubrey Woern ◽

Joshua Pearce

Keyword(s):

Additive Manufacturing ◽

Open Source ◽

Low Cost ◽

Three Dimensional ◽

High Tolerance ◽

Entire Process ◽

Composite Fabrication ◽

The Us ◽

Color Mixing ◽

Returns On Investment

Although distributed additive manufacturing can provide high returns on investment, the current markup on commercial filament over base polymers limits deployment. These cost barriers can be surmounted by eliminating the entire process of fusing filament by three-dimensional (3-D) printing products directly from polymer granules. Fused granular fabrication (FGF) (or fused particle fabrication (FPF)) is being held back in part by the accessibility of low-cost pelletizers and choppers. An open-source 3-D printable invention disclosed here allows for precisely controlled pelletizing of both single thermopolymers as well as composites for 3-D printing. The system is designed, built, and tested for its ability to provide high-tolerance thermopolymer pellets with a number of sizes capable of being used in an FGF printer. In addition, the chopping pelletizer is tested for its ability to chop multi-materials simultaneously for color mixing and composite fabrication as well as precise fractional measuring back to filament. The US$185 open-source 3-D printable pelletizer chopper system was successfully fabricated and has a 0.5 kg/h throughput with one motor, and 1.0 kg/h throughput with two motors using only 0.24 kWh/kg during the chopping process. Pellets were successfully printed directly via FGF as well as indirectly after being converted into high-tolerance filament in a recyclebot.

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