scholarly journals 3D Printing: What Are the Hazards?

2018 ◽  
Vol 66 (3) ◽  
pp. 164-164 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan A. Randolph

As the popularity of three-dimensional (3D) printers increases, more research will be conducted to evaluate the benefits and risks of this technology. Occupational health professionals should stay abreast of new recommendations to protect workers from exposure to 3D printer emissions.

Author(s):  
Verma Walker, MLIS

Three-dimensional (3D) printing is opening new opportunities in biomedicine by enabling creative problem solving, faster prototyping of ideas, advances in tissue engineering, and customized patient solutions. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Library purchased a Makerbot Replicator 2 3D printer to give scientists a chance to try out this technology. To launch the service, the library offered training, conducted a survey on service model preferences, and tracked usage and class attendance. 3D printing was very popular, with new lab equipment prototypes being the most common model type. Most survey respondents indicated they would use the service again and be willing to pay for models. There was high interest in training for 3D modeling, which has a steep learning curve. 3D printers also require significant care and repairs. NIH scientists are using 3D printing to improve their research, and it is opening new avenues for problem solving in labs. Several scientists found the 3D printer so helpful they bought one for their labs. Having a printer in a central and open location like a library can help scientists, doctors, and students learn how to use this technology in their work.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaoyu Zhao ◽  
Ye Zhao ◽  
Ming-De Li ◽  
Zhong’an Li ◽  
Haiyan Peng ◽  
...  

AbstractPhotopolymerization-based three-dimensional (3D) printing can enable customized manufacturing that is difficult to achieve through other traditional means. Nevertheless, it remains challenging to achieve efficient 3D printing due to the compromise between print speed and resolution. Herein, we report an efficient 3D printing approach based on the photooxidation of ketocoumarin that functions as the photosensitizer during photopolymerization, which can simultaneously deliver high print speed (5.1 cm h−1) and high print resolution (23 μm) on a common 3D printer. Mechanistically, the initiating radical and deethylated ketocoumarin are both generated upon visible light exposure, with the former giving rise to rapid photopolymerization and high print speed while the latter ensuring high print resolution by confining the light penetration. By comparison, the printed feature is hard to identify when the ketocoumarin encounters photoreduction due to the increased lateral photopolymerization. The proposed approach here provides a viable solution towards efficient additive manufacturing by controlling the photoreaction of photosensitizers during photopolymerization.


Polymers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (13) ◽  
pp. 2125
Author(s):  
José María Rosales ◽  
Cristina Cejudo ◽  
Lidia Verano ◽  
Lourdes Casas ◽  
Casimiro Mantell ◽  
...  

Polylactic Acid (PLA) filaments impregnated with ethanolic mango leaves extract (MLE) with pharmacological properties were obtained by supercritical impregnation. The effects of pressure, temperature and amount of extract on the response variables, i.e., swelling, extract loading and bioactivity of the PLA filaments, were determined. The analysis of the filaments biocapacities revealed that impregnated PLA filaments showed 11.07% antidenaturant capacity and 88.13% antioxidant activity, which after a 9-day incubation shifted to 30.10% and 9.90%, respectively. Subsequently, the same tests were conducted on printed samples. Before their incubation, the printed samples showed 79.09% antioxidant activity and no antidenaturant capacity was detected. However, after their incubation, the antioxidant activity went down to only 2.50%, while the antidenaturant capacity raised up to 23.50%. The persistence of the bioactive properties after printing opens the possibility of using the functionalized PLA filaments as the feed for a three-dimensional (3D) printer.


Materials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (10) ◽  
pp. 2545
Author(s):  
Marcin Hoffmann ◽  
Krzysztof Żarkiewicz ◽  
Adam Zieliński ◽  
Szymon Skibicki ◽  
Łukasz Marchewka

Foundation piles that are made by concrete 3D printers constitute a new alternative way of founding buildings constructed using incremental technology. We are currently observing very rapid development of incremental technology for the construction industry. The systems that are used for 3D printing with the application of construction materials make it possible to form permanent formwork for strip foundations, construct load-bearing walls and partition walls, and prefabricate elements, such as stairs, lintels, and ceilings. 3D printing systems do not offer soil reinforcement by making piles. The paper presents the possibility of making concrete foundation piles in laboratory conditions using a concrete 3D printer. The paper shows the tools and procedure for pile pumping. An experiment for measuring pile bearing capacity is described and an example of a pile deployment model under a foundation is described. The results of the tests and analytical calculations have shown that the displacement piles demonstrate less settlement when compared to the analysed shallow foundation. The authors indicate that it is possible to replace the shallow foundation with a series of piles combined with a printed wall without locally widening it. This type of foundation can be used for the foundation of low-rise buildings, such as detached houses. Estimated calculations have shown that the possibility of making foundation piles by a 3D printer will reduce the cost of making foundations by shortening the time of execution of works and reducing the consumption of construction materials.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuezong Wang ◽  
Jinghui Liu ◽  
Mengfei Guo ◽  
LiuQIan Wang

Purpose A three-dimensional (3D) printing error simulation approach is proposed to analyze the influence of tilted vertical beams on the 3D printing accuracy. The purpose of this study is to analyze the influence of such errors on printing accuracy and printing quality for delta-robot 3D printer. Design/methodology/approach First, the kinematic model of a delta-robot 3D printer with an ideal geometric structure is proposed by using vector analysis. Then, the normal kinematic model of a nonideal delta-robot 3D robot with tilted vertical beams is derived based on the above ideal kinematic model. Finally, a 3D printing error simulation approach is proposed to analyze the influence of tilted vertical beams on the 3D printing accuracy. Findings The results show that tilted vertical beams can indeed cause 3D printing errors and further influence the 3D printing quality of the final products and that the 3D printing errors of tilted vertical beams are related to the rotation angles of the tilted vertical beams. The larger the rotation angles of the tilted vertical beams are, the greater the geometric deformations of the printed structures. Originality/value Three vertical beams and six horizontal beams constitute the supporting parts of the frame of a delta-robot 3D printer. In this paper, the orientations of tilted vertical beams are shown to have a significant influence on 3D printing accuracy. However, the effect of tilted vertical beams on 3D printing accuracy is difficult to capture by instruments. To reveal the 3D printing error mechanisms under the condition of tilted vertical beams, the error generation mechanism and the quantitative influence of tilted vertical beams on 3D printing accuracy are studied by simulating the parallel motion mechanism of a delta-robot 3D printer with tilted vertical beams.


Author(s):  
Ghazi Qaryouti ◽  
Abdel Rahman Salbad ◽  
Sohaib A. Tamimi ◽  
Anwar Almofleh ◽  
Wael A. Salah ◽  
...  

The three-dimensional (3D) printing technologies represent a revolution in the manufacturing sector due to their unique characteristics. These printers arecapable to increase the productivitywithlower complexity in addition tothe reduction inmaterial waste as well the overall design cost prior large scalemanufacturing.However, the applications of 3D printing technologies for the manufacture of functional components or devices remain an almost unexplored field due to their high complexity. In this paper the development of 3D printing technologies for the manufacture of functional parts and devices for different applications is presented. The use of 3D printing technologies in these applicationsis widelyused in modelingdevices usually involves expensive materials such as ceramics or compounds. The recent advances in the implementation of 3D printing with the use of environmental friendly materialsin addition to the advantages ofhighperformance and flexibility. The design and implementation of relatively low-cost and efficient 3D printer is presented. The developed prototype was successfully operated with satisfactory operated as shown from the printed samples shown.


Author(s):  
Daniel A. Tillman ◽  
Ross C. Teller ◽  
Paul E. Perez ◽  
Song A. An

This chapter examines the theories, strategies, and techniques for employing 3D printing technologies to fabricate education-appropriate augmented reality (AR) headsets and provides a concrete example of an AR headset that the authors developed. The chapter begins by discussing theories and historically relevant events that provide a context for the chapter's narrative about use of 3D printers to support AR in education. Next, the chapter presents the strategies that were employed while developing and 3D fabricating a custom-designed AR headset that was intended for supporting middle school students learning science and mathematics content knowledge. Afterward, the chapter provides directions and resources for the reader describing how to build the presented AR headset design themselves by using a 3D printer and affordable electronic components, as well as information about how to join the Maker community and participate in the designing and producing of similar projects. Lastly, the chapter delivers a summarization of all findings discussed.


2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 663-665 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nor Aiman Sukindar ◽  
Mohd Khairol Anuar Mohd Ariffin ◽  
B.T. Hang Tuah Baharudin ◽  
Che Nor Aiza Jaafar ◽  
Mohd Idris Shah Ismail

Open-source 3D printer has been widely used for fabricating three dimensional products. However, this technology has some drawbacks that need to be improved such as accuracy of the finished parts. One of the factors affecting the final product is the ability of the machine to extrude the material consistently, which is related to the flow behavior of the material inside the liquefier. This paper observes the pressure drop along the liquefier by manipulating the nozzle die angle from 80° to 170° using finite element analysis (FEA) for polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) material. When the pressure drop along the liquefier is varied, the printed product also varies, thus providing less accuracy in the finished parts. Based on the FEA, it was found that 130° was the optimum die angle (convergent angle) for extruding PMMA material using open-source 3D printing.


Sensors ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 936 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Brewin ◽  
Thomas Brewin ◽  
Joseph Phillips ◽  
Sophie Rose ◽  
Anas Abdulaziz ◽  
...  

Two expanding areas of science and technology are citizen science and three-dimensional (3D) printing. Citizen science has a proven capability to generate reliable data and contribute to unexpected scientific discovery. It can put science into the hands of the citizens, increasing understanding, promoting environmental stewardship, and leading to the production of large databases for use in environmental monitoring. 3D printing has the potential to create cheap, bespoke scientific instruments that have formerly required dedicated facilities to assemble. It can put instrument manufacturing into the hands of any citizen who has access to a 3D printer. In this paper, we present a simple hand-held device designed to measure the Secchi depth and water colour (Forel Ule scale) of lake, estuarine and nearshore regions. The device is manufactured with marine resistant materials (mostly biodegradable) using a 3D printer and basic workshop tools. It is inexpensive to manufacture, lightweight, easy to use, and accessible to a wide range of users. It builds on a long tradition in optical limnology and oceanography, but is modified for ease of operation in smaller water bodies, and from small watercraft and platforms. We provide detailed instructions on how to build the device and highlight examples of its use for scientific education, citizen science, satellite validation of ocean colour data, and low-cost monitoring of water clarity, colour and temperature.


Author(s):  
Laxmi Poudel ◽  
Chandler Blair ◽  
Jace McPherson ◽  
Zhenghui Sha ◽  
Wenchao Zhou

Abstract While three-dimensional (3D) printing has been making significant strides over the past decades, it still trails behind mainstream manufacturing due to its lack of scalability in both print size and print speed. Cooperative 3D printing (C3DP) is an emerging technology that holds the promise to mitigate both of these issues by having a swarm of printhead-carrying mobile robots working together to finish a single print job cooperatively. In our previous work, we have developed a chunk-based printing strategy to enable the cooperative 3D printing with two fused deposition modeling (FDM) mobile 3D printers, which allows each of them to print one chunk at a time without interfering with the other and the printed part. In this paper, we present a novel method in discretizing the continuous 3D printing process, where the desired part is discretized into chunks, resulting in multi-stage 3D printing process. In addition, the key contribution of this study is the first working scaling strategy for cooperative 3D printing based on simple heuristics, called scalable parallel arrays of robots for 3DP (SPAR3), which enables many mobile 3D printers to work together to reduce the total printing time for large prints. In order to evaluate the performance of the printing strategy, a framework is developed based on directed dependency tree (DDT), which provides a mathematical and graphical description of dependency relationships and sequence of printing tasks. The graph-based framework can be used to estimate the total print time for a given print strategy. Along with the time evaluation metric, the developed framework provides us with a mathematical representation of geometric constraints that are temporospatially dynamic and need to be satisfied in order to achieve collision-free printing for any C3DP strategy. The DDT-based evaluation framework is then used to evaluate the proposed SPAR3 strategy. The results validate the SPAR3 as a collision-free strategy that can significantly shorten the printing time (about 11 times faster with 16 robots for the demonstrated examples) in comparison with the traditional 3D printing with single printhead.


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