Pneumatic Microextrusion-Based Additive Biofabrication of Polycaprolactone Bone Scaffolds: Part II – Investigation of the Influence of Polymer Flow Parameters

Pneumatic micro-extrusion (PME), a direct-write additive manufacturing process, has emerged as a high-resolution method for the fabrication of a broad range of biological tissues and organs. However, the PME process is intrinsically complex, governed by complex physical phenomena. Hence, investigation of the effects of consequential parameters would be an inevitable need. The goal of this research work is to fabricate biocompatible, porous bone tissue scaffolds for the treatment of osseous fractures, defects, and eventually diseases. In pursuit of this goal, the objective of this study is to investigate the influence of material deposition factors — i.e., (i) deposition head temperature, (ii) flow pressure, and (iii) infill pattern — on the mechanical performance of PME-fabricated bone scaffolds. It was observed that the deposition head temperature as well as the flow pressure significantly affected scaffold diameter (unlike scaffold height). In addition, material deposition rate increased significantly as a result of an increase in the deposition temperature; this phenomenon stems from a reduction in Polycaprolactone (PCL) viscosity. Furthermore, there was a direct correlation between the amount of deposited mass and scaffold stiffness. Overall, the results of this study pave the way for future investigation of PME-deposited PCL scaffolds with optimal functional properties for incorporation of stem cells toward the treatment of osseous fractures and defects.

Performance of Low-Cost 3D Printer in Medical Application

Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM) is an additive manufacturing (AM) process that produces a physical object directly from a CAD design using layer-by-layer deposition of the filament material that is extruded via a nozzle. In industry, FDM has become one of the most used AM processes for the production of low batch quantity and functional prototypes, due to its safety, efficiency, reliability, low cost, and ability to process manufacturing-grade engineering thermoplastic. Recently, the market is flooded with the availability of low-cost printers produced by numerous companies. This research aims to investigate the effect of different porosity levels on a scaffold structure produced using a low-cost 3D printer. Comparisons of these porous structures were made in terms of Von-Mises strain, total deformation, as well as compressive stress. Various porosity levels were created by varying printing parameters, including layer height, infill density, and shell thickness by slicing the initial solid CAD file using Repetier Host 3D printing software. Finite Element Analysis (FEA) simulation was then performed on the created scaffold structures by using Ansys Workbench 19.2. The simulation result indicates that the greater porosity level will result in higher total deformation of the structure. Meanwhile, the compression test shows that the minimum strength value obtained was favourable at 22 MPa and had exceeded that of the trabecular femur (15 MPa). However, its porosity level (maximum at 52%) was still below that of the minimum threshold of porosity level of 70 percent. However, the printing parameters currently used can be adjusted in the future. Therefore, it was deduced that the low-cost 3D printer offers promising potential to fabricate different porosity structures with multiple outcomes.

Study on Non-Axisymmetric 3D Curved Surface Turning by Driven-Type Rotary Tool Synchronized With Spindle

Since shifting to electric vehicles as a countermeasure against global warming is not always easy to complete, the hybrid car has been considered as another possible solution. However, based on the calculation of total CO2 emissions, all hybrid cars which will constitute 90% of all cars are expected to be equipped with an internal combustion engine even after 2030. Therefore, further efficiency improvement of the internal combustion engine is necessary. One of the key factors is the variable valve timing and variable lift with the 3D cam mechanism. Since conventional technology uses a complicated link mechanism and servo motor control, this leads a problem to set into small cars or motorcycles because they cannot afford to install the variable valve timing and variable lift with cam mechanism. To solve this problem, a cam shape with a three-dimensional curved surface has been proposed. In order to create this shape, the machining method for non-axisymmetric curved surface turning (NACS-Turning) is required. To build the new system, our research group has proposed a new machining method using a driven type rotary tool and a linear motor driven moving table to enable to achieve NACS-Turning. In this new system, a new tool rotation axis (B axis) is adopted to synchronize its rotational position with the rotational position of the spindle (C axis) holding the workpiece, the X1-, X2-, and Z-Axis positions in total. In this paper, the new hardware configuration is proposed to overcome the present machining accuracy.

Analysis of Vibration Signals in Monitoring Titanium End Milling Process Using Triaxial Accelerometer

Vibrations during milling of hard-to-cut materials can cause low productivity, inferior quality and short tool life. It is one of the common issues in the machining of hard-to-cut materials employed in aerospace applications, such as titanium alloys. This paper presents an analysis of the vibration signals in the 3 axes of movement during titanium end milling, under diverse cutting parameters, manipulating spindle speed and feed rate. Signals were obtained using a triaxial accelerometer and processed in MATLAB. The analysis was conducted in the frequency-domain and the time-frequency domain. The results show that high-frequency vibration could occur in any direction with different amplitudes. Response on each axis depends on spindle speed, feed, and type of milling. A frequency component continually appeared in each axis regardless of cutting conditions and is located near the natural frequencies. Finally, the triaxial accelerations were compared for the milling cases with a new and a worn tool. Results highlight the importance and need for continuous monitoring of vibration in the 3 axes, instead of only using a single-channel signal, providing experimental data which could expand knowledge relating to the milling of titanium alloys.

Forecasting Repair and Maintenance Services of Medical Devices Using Support Vector Machine

Accurate prediction of product failures and the need for repair services become critical for various reasons, including understanding the warranty performance of manufacturers, defining cost-efficient repair strategies, and compliance with safety standards. The purpose of this study is to use machine learning tools to analyze several parameters crucial for achieving a robust repair service system, including the number of repairs, the time of the next repair ticket or product failure, and the time to repair. A large dataset of over 530,000 repairs and maintenance of medical devices has been investigated by employing the Support Vector Machine (SVM) tool. SVM with four kernel functions is used to forecast the timing of the next failure or repair request in the system for two different products and two different failure types, namely random failure and physical damage. A frequency analysis is also conducted to explore the product quality level based on product failure and the time to repair it. Besides, the best probability distributions are fitted for the number of failures, the time between failures, and the time to repair. The results reveal the value of data analytics and machine learning tools in analyzing post-market product performance and the cost of repair and maintenance operations.

Hybrid-Light-Source Stereolithography for Fabricating Macro-Objects With Micro-Textures

Microscale surface structures are commonly found on macroscale bodies of natural creatures for their unique functions. However, it is difficult to fabricate such multi-scale geometry with conventional stereolithography processes that rely on either laser or digital micromirror device (DMD). More specifically, the DMD-based mask projection method displays the image of a cross-section of the part on the resin to fabricate the entire layer efficiently; however, its display resolution is limited by the building area. In comparison, the laser-based vector scanning method builds smooth features using a focused laser beam with desired beam-width resolution; however, it has less throughput for its sequential nature. In this paper, we studied the hybrid-light-source stereolithography process that integrates both optical light sources to facilitate the fabrication of macro-objects with microscale surface structures (called micro-textures in the paper). The hardware system uses a novel calibration approach that ensures pixel-level dimensional accuracy across the two light sources. The software system enables designing the distribution and density of specific microscale textures on a macro-object by generating projection images and laser toolpaths for the two integrated light sources. Several test cases were fabricated to demonstrate the capability of the developed process. A large fabrication area (76.8 mm × 80.0 mm) with 50 μm micro-features can be achieved with a high throughput.

The FDTD Analysis of Near-Field Response for Microgroove Structure With Standing Wave Illumination for the Realization of Coherent Structured Illumination Microscopy

Microstructures are widely used in the manufacture of functional surfaces. An optical-based super-resolution, non-invasive method is preferred for the inspection of surfaces with massive microstructures. The Structured Illumination Microscopy (SIM) uses standing-wave illumination to reach optical super-resolution. Recently, coherent SIM is being studied. It can obtain not only the super-resolved intensity distribution but also the phase and amplitude distribution of the sample surface beyond the diffraction limit. By analysis of the phase-depth dependency, the depth measurement for microgroove structures with coherent SIM is expected. FDTD analysis is applied for observing the near-field response of microgroove under the standing-wave illumination. The near-field phase shows depth dependency in this analysis. Moreover, the effects from microgroove width, the incident angle, and the relative position between the standing-wave peak and center of the microgroove are investigated. It is found the near-field phase change can measure depth until 200 nm (aspect ratio 1) with an error of up to 20.4 nm in the case that the microgroove width is smaller than half of the wavelength.

Computational Study of Reinforcement Mechanisms of Cuttlefish Bone Inspired Structure for 3D Printing

Cuttlebone, the internal shell structure of a cuttlefish, presents a unique labyrinthian wall-septa design that promotes high energy absorption, porosity, and damage tolerance. This structure offers us an inspiration for the design of lightweight and strong structures for potential applications in mechanical, aerospace and biomedical engineering. However, the complexity of the cuttlebones structural design makes its fabrication by traditional manufacturing techniques not feasible. The advances in additive manufacturing (3D printing) make highly complex structures like cuttlebone possible to manufacture. In this work, the authors sought to establish comparative data between cuttlebone structures and some common support structures used in additive manufacturing. The structures compared to cuttlebone in this work include the cubic, honeycomb and triangular support structures. This was accomplished by using CAD modeling and simulation software. This study found that the cuttlefish structures had higher average stress values than the others but similar average strain values. This leads to a higher modulus of elasticity for the cuttlebone structures. The data suggests that further research into cuttlebone structures could produce future designs that improve upon the current well-established additive manufacturing support structures. Further study will be performed for the 3D printing of cuttlebone inspired structures by using various types of materials, such as soft and rigid polymers, functional ceramics, composites, and metals.

Investigation of the Regenerative Potential of Human Bone Marrow Stem Cell-Seeded Polycaprolactone Bone Scaffolds, Fabricated Using Pneumatic Microextrusion Process

Pneumatic MicroExtrusion (PME) is a direct-write additive manufacturing process, which has emerged as a robust, high-resolution method for the fabrication of a broad spectrum of biological tissues and organs. However, the PME process is intrinsically complex, governed by bio-physio-chemical phenomena as well as material-process interactions. Hence, investigation of the influence of consequential factors on bone scaffold fabrication as well as investigation of cell-scaffold interactions would be an inevitable need. The objective of the work is to investigate the biocompatibility as well as the histological properties of PME-fabricated porous bone scaffolds, composed of polycaprolactone (PCL). To achieve this objective, a media extraction of the scaffold material was tested for cytostatic or cytotoxic activity with the aim to: (i) assess the fabricated scaffolds’ feasibility of use in regenerative medicine, and (ii) determine their structural integrity in a modelled in-vivo environment. In addition, the scaffolds were inoculated with an established osteosarcoma cell line (SAOS-2) and cultured for seven days to investigate the scaffold architecture and cell integration potential. A histological examination was performed on the seeded scaffolds for further in-depth analysis of cell-scaffold interaction. Overall, the results of this study pave the way for future investigation of stem cell incorporation into PME-fabricated PCL scaffolds toward the treatment of osseous fractures and defects.

Anisotropic Cutting Force Characteristics in Milling of Maraging Steel Processed Through Selective Laser Melting

Additive manufacturing process of maraging steel has been studied for high value parts in aerospace and automotive industries. The hybrid additive / subtractive manufacturing is effective to achieve tight tolerances and surface finishes. The additive process induces anisotropic mechanical properties of maraging steel, which depends on the laser scanning direction. Because anisotropy in the workpiece material has an influence on the cutting process, the surface finish and the dimension accuracy change according to the direction of the cutter feed with respect to the laser scanning direction. Therefore, the cutting parameters should be determined to control the cutting force considering material anisotropy. The paper discusses the cutting force in milling of maraging steel stacked with selective laser melting, as an additive manufacturing process. Anisotropic effect on the cutting forces is proved with the changing rate of the cutting force in milling of the workpieces stacked by repeating laser scanning at 0/90 degrees and 45/−45 degrees. The cutting forces, then, are analyzed in the chip flow models with piling up of orthogonal cuttings. The force model associates anisotropy with the shear stress on the shear plane. The changes in the cutting forces with the feed direction are discussed in the cutting tests and analysis.