Untethered Hovering Flapping Flight of a 3D-Printed Mechanical Insect

2011 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 73-86 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles Richter ◽  
Hod Lipson

This project focuses on developing a flapping-wing hovering insect using 3D-printed wings and mechanical parts. The use of 3D printing technology has greatly expanded the possibilities for wing design, allowing wing shapes to replicate those of real insects or virtually any other shape. It has also reduced the time of a wing design cycle to a matter of minutes. An ornithopter with a mass of 3.89 g has been constructed using the 3D printing technique and has demonstrated an 85-s passively stable untethered hovering flight. This flight exhibits the functional utility of printed materials for flapping-wing experimentation and ornithopter construction and for understanding the mechanical principles underlying insect flight and control.

Author(s):  
M.A. SEREZHKIN ◽  
D.O. KLIMYUK ◽  
A.I. PLOKHIKH

The article presents the study of the application of 3D printing technology for rapid tooling in sheet metal forming for custom or small–lot manufacturing. The main issue of the usage of 3D printing technology for die tooling was discovered. It is proposed to use the method of mathematical modelling to investigate how the printing parameters affect the compressive strength of FDM 3D–printed parts. Using expert research methods, the printing parameters most strongly affecting the strength of products were identified for further experiments. A method for testing the strength of 3D–printed materials has been developed and tested.


Materials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (16) ◽  
pp. 4544
Author(s):  
Osman Konuray ◽  
Arnau Sola ◽  
Jordi Bonada ◽  
Agnieszka Tercjak ◽  
Albert Fabregat-Sanjuan ◽  
...  

Versatile acrylate–epoxy hybrid formulations are becoming widespread in photo/thermal dual-processing scenarios, especially in 3D printing applications. Usually, parts are printed in a stereolithography or digital light processing (DLP) 3D printer, after which a thermal treatment would bestow the final material with superior mechanical properties. We report the successful formulation of such a hybrid system, consisting of a commercial 3D printing acrylate resin modified by an epoxy–anhydride mixture. In the final polymeric network, we observed segregation of an epoxy-rich phase as nano-domains, similar to what was observed in a previous work. However, in the current work, we show the effectiveness of a coupling agent added to the formulation to mitigate this segregation for when such phase separation is undesired. The hybrid materials showed significant improvement of Young’s modulus over the neat acrylate. Once the flexible, partially-cured material was printed with a minimal number of layers, it could be molded into a complex form and thermally cured. Temporary shapes were readily programmable on this final material, with easy shape recovery under mild temperatures. Inspired by repairable 3D printed materials described recently, we manufactured a large object by printing its two halves, and then joined them covalently at the thermal cure stage with an apparently seamless union.


2021 ◽  
Vol 105 (1) ◽  
pp. 431-440
Author(s):  
Pavel Šafl ◽  
Jana Zimáková ◽  
Tomáš Binar

The aim of this work is to study the climatic influences on 3D printed materials. This study focuses on the HIPS material, which was chosen as the starting material for further studies. The material in the field of 3D printing is known for its rapid photooxidation, which results in the formation of cracks in the final product. A climatic chamber was used for degradation, in which UV light, heat and increased humidity were applied to the material. The degree of degradation was then checked by tensile test and electron microscope.


Author(s):  
Tejinder Kaur ◽  
Suruchi Singh

Malvidin belongs to the class of anthocyanidin, a pigment compound present in fruits and vegetables like the colored berries, flowers, and vegetables which have pigments on it and it is available commercially as malvidin chloride. Malvidin is known to possess many medicinal characteristics like anti-microbial, anti-diabetic, anti-inflammatory, anti-obesity, and anti-cancer. In this research paper, a 3D printing technique is used which evolves a 3D printer based on desktop that extrudes tablets comprising the active drug which here is malvidin our main ingredient and the other excipients which are used as binders and disintegrants. Methods which are adapted here for the formulation of 3D printed tablet make the tablets appropriate for immediate and sustained release with its definite physical and mechanical properties like hardness, friability, and weight. Tablets that are extruded by the 3D printer are controlled release bi-layer tablets. Due to involvement of 3D printer, printing cost for the bi-layered tablets found very low that makes our method as cost efficient.


Author(s):  
Tiffaney Flaata ◽  
Gregory J. Michna ◽  
Todd Letcher

Additive manufacturing, the layer-by-layer creation of parts, was initially used for rapid prototyping of new designs. Recently, due to the decrease in the cost and increase in the resolution and strength of additively manufactured parts, additive manufacturing is increasingly being used for production of parts for end-use applications. Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM), a type of 3d printing, is a process of additive manufacturing in which a molten thermoplastic material is extruded to create the desired geometry. Many potential heat transfer applications of 3d printed parts, including the development of additively manufactured heat exchangers, exist. In addition, the availability of metal/polymer composite filaments, first used for applications such as tooling for injection molding applications and to improve wear resistance, could lead to increased performance 3d printed heat exchangers because of the higher thermal conductivity of the material. However, the exploitation of 3d printing for heat transfer applications is hindered by a lack of reliable thermal conductivity data for as-printed materials, which typically include significant void fractions. In this experimental study, an apparatus to measure the effective thermal conductivity of 3d printed composite materials was designed and fabricated. Its ability to accurately measure the thermal conductivity of polymers was validated using a sample of acrylic, whose conductivity is well understood. Finally, the thermal conductivities of various 3d printed polymer, metal/polymer composite, and carbon/polymer composite filaments were measured and are reported in this paper. The materials used are acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), polylactic acid (PLA), stainless steel/PLA, Brass/PLA, and Bronze/PLA.


2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 209-218 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julian Vitali ◽  
Matthew Cheng ◽  
Michael Wagels

This review summarizes the utility of 3D-printing as a surgical adjunct, reviewing the cost–effectiveness. The relevant literature was analyzed outlining the utility and/or cost–effectiveness of 3D-printing for clinical use. Compared with existing methods, the evidence suggests an advantage of using 3D-printing as a technology in the treatment of complex clinical cases. However, in high frequency cases, the additional preoperative expenses are not justified. Considerable evidence of its clinical benefits exists for the application of 3D-printed anatomical models and teaching tools. However, the evidence supporting 3D-printing’s use as surgical guides or implantable devices is less clear. Furthermore, caution must exist when using these devices in the clinical setting due to a paucity of rigorous testing, global regulation and long-term data.


2017 ◽  
Vol 84 (9) ◽  
Author(s):  
Benedikt Hampel ◽  
Samuel Monshausen ◽  
Meinhard Schilling

AbstractIn consequence of the growing diversity of materials in the fused deposition modeling 3D printing technique, electrically conductive materials are commercially available. In this work two filaments based on thermoplastics filled with carbon or metal nanoparticles are analyzed in terms of their electrical conductance. The printing parameters to process the materials with the 3D printer are optimized with the design of experiments (DoE) method. A model to calculate the resistance of such 3D printed structures is presented and a demonstrator as a proof of concept was 3D printed based on these results. In addition, 3D printing of capacitors is investigated.


Author(s):  
Yuchen Mao ◽  
Takuya Miyazaki ◽  
Kohei Sakai ◽  
Jin Gong ◽  
Meifang Zhu ◽  
...  

Most of the phase change materials (PCMs) have been limited to use as functional additions or sealed in containers, and extra auxiliary equipment or supporting matrix is needed. The emergence of 3D printing technique has dramatically advanced the developments of materials and simplified production processes. This study focuses on a novel strategy to model thermal energy storage crystalline gels with three-dimensional architecture directly from liquid resin without supporting materials through light-induced polymerization 3D printing technique. A mask-projection stereolithography printer was used to measure the 3D printing test, and the printable characters of crystalline thermal energy storage P(SA-DMAA) gels with different molar ratios were evaluated. For the P(SA-DMMA) gels with small fraction of SA, the 3D fabrication was realized with higher printing precision both on mili- and micro-meter scales. As a comparison of 3D printed samples, P(SA-DMAA) gels made by other two methods, post-UV curing treatment after 3D printing and UV curing using conventional mold, were prepared. The 3D printed P(SA-DMAA) gels shown high crystallinity. Post–UV curing treatment was beneficial to full curing of 3D printed gels, but did not lead to the further improvement of crystal structure to get higher crystallinity. The P(SA-DMAA) crystalline gel having the highest energy storage enthalpy that reached 69.6 J·g−1 was developed. Its good thermoregulation property in the temperature range from 25 to 40 °C was proved. The P(SA-DMAA) gels are feasible for practical applications as one kind of 3D printing material with thermal energy storage and thermoregulation functionality.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeff Gau ◽  
Ryan Gemilere ◽  
James Lynch ◽  
Nick Gravish ◽  
Simon Sponberg ◽  
...  

AbstractCentimeter-scale fliers that combine wings with springy elements must contend with the high power requirements and mechanical constraints of flapping wing flight. Insects utilize elastic energy exchange to reduce the inertial costs of flapping wing flight and potentially match wingbeat frequencies to a mechanical resonance. Flying at resonance may be energetically favorable under steady conditions, but it is difficult to modulate the frequency of a resonant system. Evidence suggests that insects utilize frequency modulation over long time scales to adjust aerodynamic forces, but it remains an open question the extent to which insects can modulate frequency on the wingstroke-to-wingstroke timescale. If wingbeat frequencies deviate from resonance, the musculature must work against the elastic flight system, thereby potentially increasing energetic costs. To assess how insects address the simultaneous needs for power and control, we tested the capacity for wingstroke-to-wingstroke wingbeat frequency modulation by perturbing free hovering Manduca sexta with vortex rings while recording high-speed video at 2000 fps. Because hawkmoth flight muscles are synchronous, there is at least the potential for the nervous system to modulate frequency on each wingstroke. We observed ± 16% wingbeat frequency modulation in just a few wing strokes. Via instantaneous phase analysis of wing kinematics, we found that over 85% of perturbation responses required active changes in motor input frequency. Unlike their robotic counterparts that explicitly abdicate frequency modulation in favor of energy efficiency, we find that wingstroke-to-wingstroke frequency modulation is an underappreciated control strategies that complements other strategies for maneuverability and stability in insect flight.


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